//------------------------------//
// Iðavöllr: The World After 
// Story: Changing Expectations 
// by KKSlider 
//------------------------------//

The cheers started to die down, and I spied Chrysalis staring at me questioningly as Luna wrapped her wings around me.

"Haha haaa….." Shining Armor sighed. "You're still under arrest, Chrysalis."





I rested my forelegs on the railing as I watched the procession of ponies. There were hundreds of them coming from the Crystal Caves, where my changelings and the Royal Guards were working together to get everyone freed and sorted. Ponies waved to them as they passed through the city, offering snacks, blankets, and anything else they could spare to the refugees.

Seemed kind of pointless to me, since the ponies would be taken care of at the Crown’s expense anyways.

The main plaza had been cleared of bodies, and all of the changelings had been moved into the Crystal Caves. Overall, the death toll for changelings across the city was….

It was high.

The plaza was still strewn with debris and bloodstains, but that would be taken care of by the end of tomorrow. The city's heart would be beating once again after the immediate concerns were dealt with. At least most of the stains were covered up by the changelings and ponies moving around, or in many cases, lying on the ground, asleep, injured, or rarely, lined up in perfect, unmoving rows.

I raised an eyebrow in interest when I spied an orange pony with a brown cowboy hat rushing forward and greeting a yellow stallion in a matching hat and vest, coming from the Crystal Caves.

‘It seems the Element of Honesty has someone she knows who was taken. A brother, perhaps?’

“Prince Pharynx reports that with favorable winds, they will reach the former Fourth Hive within four days,” Luna announced, joining me on the balcony.

She brought with her a chair, and she set it next to my wheelchair, sitting down with a sigh of relief. I glared at her brand new, bone-white bandages. Already, small pinpricks of red were appearing. She was supposed to be in a wheelchair like me, but she felt no need for one, even with her doctor telling her otherwise.

I wasn’t about to argue with someone over four hundred times my age, and a veteran of multiple wars. If she said she can go without a wheelchair and walk around, then there’s nothing I can do about that. We had both spent the night being fussed over by many doctors, with the only verdict being ‘we’ll live,’ or in my case, ‘get your ass in a pod before you start suffering severe repercussions for a destroyed exoskeleton.’

“Hmm, that’s good,” I said quietly.

Luna smiled at me, “Have you figured out a way to solve the imminent food crisis?”

“In one single day? Yeah, I made it Thorax’s problem.”

“Does he have a solution?”

I shrugged, “Back to slightly-above-starvation rationing for now. Thankfully, the Fifth Hive has enough food stored to last a while, even considering how quickly it can spoil. Interesting fact, that. It decays with a half-life. We never had enough of the stuff to learn that fact.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning stored love has more in common with spicy rocks that can kill you if you stand too close to them than pretty much anything else.”

“Spicy rocks?” She shook her head, “Nevermind, I am sure I will find out later. Do you think your food will last long enough?”

I nodded, “I do, and Thorax does, too. At least, if we find what we expect back in the hive, then we will have enough. Can’t say for certain until we meet back up with the old hive’s skeleton crew. Though, using the Hive’s long-range communication portals did give us hope. The crew there is optimistic about our stores…. Then there will be the matter of transporting food back here to Canterlot, but with the portal amulet, that might be easier than we feared,” I tapped the swirly charm around my neck.

“That would most certainly aid in bringing back all those ponies from across the Badlands,” Luna mused.

‘I just know that a certain purple unicorn will be asking a hundred questions about it, and will want to run some tests on it. I can’t even extort Celestia for some favors for allowing that, with Celestia being confined to her room…’

"I have to say," Luna started, "that I am surprised by the timely intervention of your goddess. Harmony tends to wait until after the crisis is resolved…"

"You're telling me," I mumbled. "I… I never really believed in Panar that much. I just went through the motions…."

"If there were no guiding powers, then there would not be any alicorns," Luna shrugged. "Or royals. I am surprised it took you this long to accept that. I was surprised about Thorax and… Pharynx? Yes, those two. It was a surprise, but things have happened in the past in similar matters."

"I suppose so. Even in changeling legends. It just seems… why now?"

"Perhaps Panar wanted to save Chrysalis, for some unknowable reason. Perhaps for the war?"

I sighed, "I guess that makes sense. Should I…  expect more miracles like this?"

Luna laughed, "How many immortals have you seen? We are few and far between, though that seems less and less true with each passing day… It seems we are entering a new age: a second heroic age. What that means for us, well, it will be a time of change..."

For a quiet moment, we sat back and watched other people do the hard work.

Then, Luna spoke up again, “Chrysalis has lodged an official complaint about her new lodgings. Somehow. I will need to have a word with my guards about speaking to prisoners, much less giving them the official paperwork to make such a complaint.”

“Maybe they gave it to her to shut her up,” I chuckled.

“Perhaps. Would be a wise move, on their part. About Chrysalis…”

“Yes?”

Luna tapped the railing idly, “I’ve spoken with my sister and Cadence about what to do with her, but Tia isn’t in a… conversational mood. The royal physician has prescribed bed rest for her, meaning it will be up to Cadence and I to run the nation.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Oh, do not fret. I will find a way to make it your problem, too. Which brings us back to Chrysalis,” Luna said. “I assume you have a plan for her?”

“I’ve got a plan for her…” I remarked. “But first, I figured you ponies would love to put her through the political wringer first. I’d be the one actually punishing her, but putting her on trial, declaring her guilty, and giving her some sort of punishment that doesn’t interfere with anything is fine with me.”

“Ah, I see. Celestia would be happy to hear that, to a degree. That would mean that you would wish to reform her, in a sense of the word? Need I remind you that I am supposed to be reforming you, Phasma. Who would you put to such a task?”

“More than one person,” I admitted. “A whole team, with many individuals giving simultaneous redundant reports. The last thing we need is Chrysalis thinking her jailer is getting too restrictive, and simply uses a mind-control spell to get some slack in her leash.”

“Your Majesty?” A voice called out from behind me.

Luna turned to see who was standing in the doorway, but I just kept staring out at the ponies.

“I was wondering where you were,” I announced loud enough for the newcomer to hear.

“I apologize, My King,” Cricket said as she stepped onto the balcony, “but I was… captured.”

“I know.”

She paused, “You… do?”

I sighed, “Chrysalis told me about you, Cricket. Or should I add your official title, Infiltrator Cricket?”

“.... I’m sorry, My King,” she said with sincerity.

I used telekinesis on the wheels to turn my wheelchair around to look at the Infiltrator, and so she could look at me. Whereas Cricket was no worse for wear, I was practically turned into a mummy with how many white gauze bandages were wrapped around my carapace. I needed a healing pod, but there was now a long line for those, and my life was far from being in danger.

Besides, we would be tight on love for the next few months while changelings integrated into Equestria enough to support the Hive. So I suffered in the meantime, working overtime to put out the worst fires before they spiraled out of control. When I would eventually have time to rest, then I would use a pod.

An hour ago, Luna had brought out a thick blanket to drape over me like a cloak when she retrieved lunch, and I accepted it gratefully. Shortly after, I switched it to cover up my lap. Just because everyone else was laissez-faire about nudity doesn't mean I was.

True to her word, Luna was reluctant to leave my side, her ever-present love, concern, and fear being as much of a companion as she was.

There would be many talks about what happened in the future.

Cricket gulped, “I know that saying sorry doesn’t mean much, but… may I plead my case?”

I motioned with a hoof for her to speak.

“…. What I said was true, King Phasma. All those times I said you were a great leader… We of course don’t remember what previous rulers were like, but there’s a reason why you’re a Saint now. You’re like a breath of fresh air for a drowning ling. I never said I was an Infiltrator because… I…

She stalled and looked around, “I suppose I don’t know why. Maybe I was afraid of your reaction. Maybe I was afraid of the reactions from other Infiltrators. I can’t really give you a reason because I never really had one. I should have told you the truth, but I didn’t. And for that, I am truly sorry. I tried telling them the truth– I tried convincing them about you, but, well, I suppose you already know about that.”

“Cricket…”

She waited for my verdict. Luna continued to watch with polite, quiet interest.

“I… believe you,” I said, making Cricket sigh in relief. “But, I… need time to think. I don’t like people so close to me hiding so much. So, I have an important duty for you. It will take you away from Canterlot for a few months, but I will be checking in regularly through the Dreamscape.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty!” She bowed.

“Yeah, just… Thank you for your loyalty, Cricket, but I don’t want to see you while I’m still suffering because of your silence. If you had spoken up, we would have been more tipped off by your disappearance, and the Hive would have known something was up even before I had returned to Canterlot. Now, find Coxa, and get your new orders from him. He should already have something arranged and written down.”

She bowed again, backpedaling, “I won’t disappoint you, King Phasma.”

“Let’s hope not.”

The changeling vanished through the doorway, and Luna nodded, “You handled that well, Phasma.”

“Hmm?”

Luna frowned, “My niece has informed me about an aborted public execution without a trial…?”

“Fucking snitch,” I muttered. “Well, I’m significantly more calm than last night, and Cricket would never deserve such a fate. Tarsus is…. tomorrow’s problem. A conundrum for future Phasma. Luna, if you would kindly take me to the dungeons, there is one more ling I need to speak to.”

“I would prefer to stay and relax for the day,” Luna complained.

“Me too,” I gave her a half-smile. “But Celestia is the one who gets to relax after this catastrophe. I need to have some words with Chrysalis. So please, unless you’d like to leave my side for half an hour, take me to see her.”

Luna nodded and began to turn my wheelchair to the door. "Captain Shining was quite enthusiastic when it came to deciding her place of stay. He will continue to be quite vocal about her incarceration, I have no doubts about that."





Chrysalis was sitting smugly in an upholstered chair, which looked jarringly out of place in her rather simplistic cell. 

It wasn’t a dungeon cell in that it was stone walls, a sparse bed, and nothing more. Instead, it could be closer to a hospital room. No doubt that being a hospital room was its secondary function, as a lot of medical equipment was stowed away at the far end of the room, near the toilet. Chrysalis would normally have been handcuffed– or hoofcuffed– but it seems that the ponies decided to forgo that measure entirely.

She was here entirely by my order and was not resisting in the slightest. She was bandaged up only slightly less than me, with about a third of her wrapped up in stained white gauze. Her mane had been cut to half its length, as apparently there were too many cut strands and knots and tangles for the full thing to be saved. Of course, there was also the massive red metal ring around the base of her horn, three green lights blinking slowly.

Chrysalis would not be using any magic for the foreseeable future.

‘Well, maybe resisting a little bit, considering she got a formal complaint made and somehow smuggled in a chair.’

“King Phasma,” Chrysalis smiled, “so good of you to visit me.”

“Princess Chrysalis,” I returned the greeting.

‘Apparently, she’s not evil,’ I reminded myself. ‘I don’t know if I will come to grips with that revelation. Not anytime soon…. There’s still bodies to bury, speeches to make, and sacrifices to consecrate. It makes sense that she was motivated by just as much fear and sense of duty as I was. Am. Eurgh, this shit makes my head hurt. Maybe Celestia was right about the whole being-constantly-drunk thing.’

Chrysalis glared at me, “Are you just going to stare at me, or are you going to say something? You interrupted one of my afternoon naps.”

"I'm still coming to terms with the idea that you are not evil," I admitted.

"Tch, you wound your poor mother's heart!" She frowned and put a hoof over her chest.

"Never calling you that," I said.

Chrysalis looked at Luna, "And you? Why are you here?"

"I am not leaving Phasma's side."

Chrysalis’s pupils dilated as she started to grin from ear to ear.

"Ooooh ho ho hooo! My, my! Now this is interesting! Phasma, you didn't tell me that you wooed an alicorn! It's no wonder why you are so sure of our species’ survival, you've got one of the pony leaders on a leash!"

I squirmed in my chair uncomfortably. Luna smiled, making me worry even more.

"Actually, it is the other way around," Luna said 

"Okay!" I cut them off. "That's enough of that!"

Chrysalis only grinned even more. Showing all of her teeth in her smile, "Why stop now? This is only just getting good!"

"You know, I expected you to put up more of a fight when I let the ponies arrest you," I changed the subject.

Chrysalis returned to a neutral expression, "I am not worried in the slightest."

"Why not?"

She frowned, "As Pontiff, it is your duty to oversee the health and safety of the loyal royals underneath you. Which means you can not abandon me to the noose. You should know this, I covered it in one of our lessons."

"I don't remember that lesson," I said, tapping my chin.

"At any rate," Chrysalis continued, "I also know that you have plans. You are not one to sit on your laurels. Instead, you always stress out and plan for the distant future." She relaxed in her chair, stretching out with a sigh. "You had better hope that your mistress mellows you out; as important as planning is, worrying too much will make you lose sight of what's happening right in front of your muzzle. But I'll play your little game, King Phasma. Oh, woe is me! I am so unsure of my own fate, whatever shall befall me!"

"You should have less confidence,” I refrained from growling. “You will answer for your crimes, both against changelings and against ponies.”

She slowly sat up straight, "Oh? That's unexpected. Are you planning on sealing me away, my dear son?"

"Not quite," Luna revealed.

I tapped the iron bars of her cell, "The Equestrians will put you on trial. You'll be found guilty of whatever crime they'll want to charge you with. I will most certainly help and testify against you, as will plenty of other changelings."

"We intend only to charge applicable crimes, and there will be a requirement of evidence," Luna interrupted. "We are not going to arbitrarily declare you guilty of any crime. Not without proof."

Chrysalis sneered, "How magnanimous of you to charge a changeling for breaking pony laws. I'm sure it will be a fair trial. But go on, Phasma. I'm sure you'll make my fate a spectacle."

I worked my jaw silently, frustrated, "You’re not going to be executed. That much is certain.”

"No?" Chrysalis queried.

"You're going to be reformed. I'll have a team of changelings and ponies watching you, instructing you how to act, and overseeing you. That will be your ultimate fate, after whatever else the Equestrians and changelings deem necessary."

She fell back into her chair. "Oh, how droll."

I continued, "In addition to whatever lengthy process the ponies and I come up with for you, you’ll have another long, arduous test to see if you’re really trustworthy."

"Very well," Chrysalis sighed. "What is this task you are setting before me? Infiltrating the griffons? Exploring some unknown land? Sweeping a dirt road for a century? What is it?"

"I was considering you for the position of leading the recolonization of the First Hive," I revealed.

"No," She whispered. ".... Of course you found it. Panar seems to be guiding you personally. Is that where you found your armor?"

"Actually that was from the Third Hive, which I had to demolish to kill a particularly brutal Nightmare."

Chrysalis sagged in her seat, blinking rapidly, ".... Two Hives. You found not one, but two ancient Hives…. If only I had that luck. What were they like?"

"The Third Hive was a coffin in everything but name," I said. "Buried far beneath the jungles, it was a cursed ruin of death. Still, it was something to behold. As for the first, you'll eventually see for yourself. It is a wonder to rival Canterlot, a glistening underground counterpart. You would be nominally in charge of both changelings and ponies, though you’d find the real power will be more spread out than what you're used to."

"Wait, you are still considering putting her in charge of Nisir?!" Luna exclaimed, looking at me like I'd forgotten my brain in another room. “When you referred to the idea in the past tense, I assumed you would leave it in the past!”

"Nisir?" Chrysalis echoed. "Nisir…"

“I said I was considering it,” I clarified, “but Chrysalis has killed a lot of people. Changelings, ponies… Both sides have suffered from her mismanagement,” she glared at me, but I continued. “It’s hard to ever trust her with anyone else’s lives at the moment. You would have to be completely vetted by whoever is in charge of your redemption. So if anything, this is months, if not years away. Now, leadership of Nisir is likely to go to Pharynx for now, though I suspect he will hate any extended period away from his brother. I need Thorax in Canterlot, so Pharynx will want to be in Canterlot, too. He will resist any kind of permanent stay, hence your consideration.”

Chrysalis tapped the arm of her chair slowly, “And your pony overlords have approved of this plan?”

I rolled my eyes, “I dunno, is it okay with you, Luna?”

‘Not like Luna gets final say over this, anyways. The ponies will get their redemption and whatever else they want to pull out from Chrysalis. I need her alive, and they will deliver her alive.’

Luna crossed her forelegs, “I can not predict the future. Not without a week-long ritual, a mountain of reagents, and even then it is a tenuous prediction at best. Even if I did, the future has never before been so tumultuous; the return of myself, the changelings suddenly being more than the rare foal’s tale you once were, and now Chrysalis surrendering…. It will take a long time to heal the wounds of this war. An entire generation, mayhaps. I know for certain that there will be both ponies and changelings who protest the act of reinstating Chrysalis into any position of power. 

The right decisions are rarely ever the easy ones. I could cling to the hate in my heart, or I can let it go. I have seen where the former path ends, and so I must continue treading the path of forgiveness. I still hate her, though. In time… she can make amends. But for now, she must be contained and evaluated.”

I sighed in frustration, “But we may need her for the war.”

“War?” Chrysalis questioned. “Against those Nightmares you spoke of last night? You are certain that these things are real?”

“A foal’s-tale foal’s-tale,” Luna half-grinned. “The boogymare for the boogymares. They are indeed real, and are the source of woes for– for… many.” Her smile sagged.

I pressed a hoof against the bars of Chrysalis’s cell, “They are the ones who have been felling Hive after Hive. They are the true enemy of changelings, and they fully intend on ending us all, Equestria and Hive Eternal. The Nightmares, known as the Umbrum to our ancestors, have dedicated their existence to wiping out life on Equus.”

“.... Then we must kill them,” Chrysalis muttered.

“There is no alternative,” Luna agreed.

The former queen blinked in surprise, “I seem to recall the frantic, incoherent mumblings of my mother quite clearly now. These Nightmares must have been what she feared…”

I decided to ask something that was bugging me, "Chrysalis…. you were never planning on Ascending me?"

"Of course not. We've been over this."

I continued, "What if I was on death's door? Injured, like the other royals?"

Chrysalis shrugged, "Then I would have let you die. I brought you forth into this world through necromancy, and I can just as easily bring you back."

"Oh," I deflated. "Glad to hear that I would simply die."

"I said I would bring you back!"

I scoffed, "Right, because you definitely intended for me to come back with that ritual."

"Maybe Panar chose you over Procho," Chrysalis said, sinking into her chair. "You have been hard at work saving our species. Not even Procho showed that much initiative. Though, that's because she's not a backstabbing traitor."

"You…" I stalled myself, trying to calm down. "I'm not getting into who betrayed who."

"Because I never betrayed you," she glared.

"Not from my perspective. Look, it's going to be a long time before… this changes," I said, gesturing to her cell. "I guess during that time, we can find out where you went wrong."

She bared her fangs, "Where I went wrong? Oh ho ho, King Phasma, you are far too… How did you put it? Sure of yourself?"

"Is that a threat?" Luna asked, stepping forward.

"No, no," Chrysalis started to relax again. "I'm simply scolding my son for never seeing things from where I stand. I did my duty to the Hive Eternal. Had I known that my children, my brothers and sisters too, were still alive when they were Ascended…"

If I squinted hard enough, I could have sworn that I saw her actually showing emotion.

"... I would have Ascended them all the same. The Hive needed their Weave to survive."

‘Ah, there goes the emotion: right out the front door, along with her moralities.’

"You're a monster," I growled.

"If that's the role Panar set for me…" Chrysalis said.

'Is she actually feeling guilty? Does that… even matter? She did it anyway! Coming to terms with that is up to her!'

I checked the time using a spell. 

Wincing, I tried to speak as I tried to rub the pain away from my horn “We will talk again later, Chrysalis. There is still so much to be done, and so little time to do it. We will see what comes of the trial, and what the judges dictate your punishment shall be.”

“What will you do, if I am the one doing all the hard work and becoming a martyr for our species?” She sneered.

“I will be securing our future in Equestria,” I said simply, before turning my chair around. “Luna, if you’d please take me to your office now, I’ve got some appointments coming up.”

Luna nodded and began to wheel me away– throwing Chrysalis a look over her shoulder. I couldn’t see what her facial expression was, but judging by Chrysalis’s immediate laugh, it was probably not a friendly one.





I cleared my throat as Luna wheeled me down the halls, "So you hate Chrysalis, somewhat less than I do, but what about Celestia and Cadence? I was rushed to the doctors before I could really see their… reaction."

"I am afraid my sister isn't feeling much right now. That wretch drained her greatly, and she is struggling to feel emotions. She… ahem, Celestia will recover in time. This is the weakest I have ever seen her, but she is surrounded by friends and family. She… will be fine."

I tried to turn my neck to look at Luna. There was sadness leaking from her like a faucet. I twisted around to put my hoof on top of one of hers on the wheelchair’s back handles.

"Thank you, Phasma…" She said softly. "Ahem. Celestia will be okay. I know this, but it does not make seeing her hurt any easier. Now face forward, I do not want to hear a word from any physician stating that you have exacerbated your own injuries. As for Cadence, she wishes to speak to you as soon as you both have a chance. Given how she personally oversaw the care of the wounded down on the battlefield, she's been busy. Though, I suspect that that was on purpose; she buried herself in work to distract herself, just as her other half does."

"Their opinions on Thorax and Pharynx?" 

Luna thought about it for a moment before answering, "... Too early to say. They will be happy, I am sure. Cadence has no experience in situations like this, unlike Celestia and I."

I nodded, and we fell into silence.

Until I broke it, “Errr…. I may not have been in the Palace for very long, but I don’t think this is the way to our office.”

“My office,” Luna corrected me, expression softening when she saw my smile, “is not where we are headed.”

“Where are we going?” I asked, looking around to try to place our current position.

“I have some royal duties to attend to. I took you around for your errands, now you must accompany me for mine.”

“Oh. Okay then.”

Luna hummed quietly, "I think I shall inform Captain Shining of Chrysalis’s adjustments to her cell. That should make things a little less comfortable for the changeling. Though, I do fear that Shining Armor may suffer an aneurysm when he learns of it… it is petty of me, I know, however, consider the following: fuck Chrysalis."

I snorted, "I'm sure your immortal soul will survive the blemish."

'Because apparently I gotta start worrying about sins now. Wait, do I? I've already been reincarnated, so there's no afterlife that I know of. Maybe there is, and I just don't remember it. And what would Panar even consider a sin? Squishing a bug? Nah, that's probably racist.'

Our destination was a location I had only visited once before.

Canter Castle's throne room was filled to the brim with ponies and more than a few changelings. When the pair of guards standing on both sides of the golden double doors saluted our arrival, they also pushed open the doors for us.

The unorderly raucous of conversation immediately filled the hallway as it spilled forth from the throne room like a wave. As Luna wheeled me up behind the tall throne that towered over everyone, she clicked her tongue.

"Oh, yes. The throne is not wheelchair accessible."

I snorted, "Careful, you could get fined for that."

Then, with a lurch that was colored blue, we were suddenly at the top of the throne dias, right in front of the colored gold and deep blue metal chairs. Luna positioned my chair to the side of the blue throne, and she collapsed into the chair with a sigh of relief.

I studied the crowd before us. When we teleported up, many pointed in our direction, and conversations fell away as the room's attention shifted to us.

Several ponies and changelings came forth, giving Luna and I respectively a clipboard. I accepted mine with a smile and nod and thanked the changeling who hoofed the clipboard to me. I vaguely recognized her as one of Coxa's lackeys.

Briefly skimming it, I let slip a groan of pain as I realized that it was a tightly packed schedule for today. The brief bit of respite Luna and I had during lunch would be our only break for at least ten more hours.

"Stewardship of the realm is such a lovable duty, is it not?" Luna smirked, looking up from her own paperwork.

'So it's time to pay the price for spending the day with Luna. We both have mountains of work to do, and Luna won't leave my side for a second to do hers.'

"Looks like I'll be handling some work while I'm here with you," I said, flipping the paper to discover five more identical sheets. "Let's hope that doesn't create problems."

"We shall survive." Luna rose from her chair, and the last sound in the room stilled. "Good afternoon, ponies and changelings of the Canterlot Confederacy. Things are quite hectic right now, so let us get straight to the matter: let open court commence!"





The arrangement turned out to be a massive headache. With two conversations going on at the same time, I eventually managed to start tuning out whatever was going on next to me while I dealt with Hive business, but occasionally Luna would call on me for help. Or simply interrupted my conversation by yelling with her 'Royal Voice' as some unfortunate idiot who got on her wrong side.

The first order of business came from Obturator, the former royal physician.

"King Phasma," he bowed. "It is good to see that you're still alive after all this time."

"Obturator," I greeted him. "I was in more than one piece at times, but I am alright now. How can I help?"

I neglected to add his title before his name, partly because I still had to reorganize the Swarm and its leaders, but mostly because I forgot what his exact title was.

'Captain? It wasn't General, I know that much.'

"My King, I have some paperwork from the Royal Guards that needs to be signed by you. It's a requisition order for the first aid supplies."

I frowned, "You have been asked to file paperwork before you get much-needed supplies?"

The drone shook his head, "No, much to my surprise, My King. They gave us exactly what we wanted when we asked. They just want the proper paperwork done for the requests," Obturator said as he levitated over a rather intimidating stack of paperwork.

"I'll be sure to make it someone else's problem," I said truthfully as I accepted the papers. "Is there anything else?"

"No, My King," Obturator grinned.

"Then I'll let you get back to your work," I dismissed him.

He bowed, "Thank you, Your Majesty. I know I haven't given my oath of fealty yet, but… I'm glad everything has turned out this way, My King."

"I'm glad, too, Obturator. Take care, and keep up the good work."

As Obturator stepped away, another changeling took his place. I recognized them as Stinger, the changeling who had examined the artifacts from the First Hive with me.

“Stinger,” I nodded in acknowledgement.

“My King,” she bowed and quickly bounded up the throne’s steps.

Luna glanced our way but continued yelling at a noble who was demanding that all the changelings should be removed from Canterlot’s central plaza.

Stinger presented a clipboard as she began speaking, “My King, I’m sorry to say, but there’s a problem. There was a fight, and…”

“There’s been a war,” I said, straight-faced.

Grabbing the clipboard with my hooves to spare my aching horn, I skimmed the papers, and started to frown.

“The artifacts from the First Hive, they… were stolen,” Stinger announced. “There was a fight, and both changelings and ponies were injured. Two changelings and one pony perished in the fighting…”

‘That could explain this portal amulet being abandoned in a hallway.’

It was an after-action report that had been hastily assembled in the night– or, more likely, minutes ago. Many of the artifacts had been taken in transit from Clear Skies, specifically while they were in the Palace. I had given orders to Coxa to arrange for them to be placed in a vault we would have access to. Somehow, someone knew about their existence, knew they were vulnerable, and had the means to take them. Someone not afraid of getting blood on their hooves.

When I noticed that the pony casualty had succumbed to injuries, and not necessarily died in combat, the pieces fell into place.

“Division-P,” I muttered quietly.

“That’s our working theory,” Stinger confirmed. “We, uh, haven’t told anyone else. I mean, the team in charge of the artifacts and I have brought this right to your attention first, Your Majesty.”

‘So not only were the priceless and rare artifacts from the First Hive taken, but changelings and a pony died as a result.’

My jaw clenched in anger, and I had to physically try to relax it. 

“We’re still debriefing the changelings and ponies involved,” Stinger continued, “but from what we can tell, it was a mess. We’re trying to get an understanding of what happened; it seems that ponies in Royal Guard armor attacked the Red Right Hoof, and their fellow mares-in-arms, and made off with the artifacts. One pony involved did not have the armor, therefore we’ve been able to cobble together her identity. I think you’ll find this to be a rather familiar pony…”

The last page detailed the pony in question.

“She attacked changelings and ponies?!” I gasped, trying to keep my voice low.

Stinger looked around the crowded room, “It’s hard to tell. We don’t think so, but she was definitely there, fighting some ponies. And maybe changelings.”

I was about to turn to Luna to appraise her of the situation when she brought me into her own conversation.

“You should direct that inquiry to King Phasma himself,” she said, gesturing to me.

Forcing myself to become aware of the full scale of the circus I was in the center of, I realized that Luna was talking to six familiar mares. They were the Elements of Harmony bearers, and they looked significantly worse for wear. I had only seen one since the Gala, Applejack, and that was at a distance.

The six ponies looked tired. It was a sucker’s bet that they had been up all night, trying to get to Canterlot to help ponies, and had buried themselves in work for that purpose. It seemed like the kind of selfless thing they would do, according to Luna’s stories about them.

The ponies looked over to me, and Twilight Sparkle stepped forward a pace, clearing her throat.

“Excuse me, King Phasmatodea, but we were wondering if we could be of any help to… you.”

Before I addressed Twilight, I used the clipboard with the A.A.R. to cover my mouth as I leaned over to whisper to Luna.

“We’ve got a problem, Luna. The artifacts from the First Hive have been stolen. This is the report,” I finished, physically hoofing over the clipboard.

She frowned and took the report.

“Thank you, Stinger, please finish your investigation as quickly as you can,” I dismissed the changeling. Finally, I turned to the Element bearers, “I’m sorry, you said you wanted to help me?”

Twilight and her equals nodded.

“Just point us to ponies– err, to changelings that need help, and we’ll do what we can,” Applejack stood up straight.

“You look like you need help yourself,” I pointed out.

“We can still help,” the shy one, Fluttershy, said.

‘Was that the first time I heard her speak? Hmm, no, I think she spoke during the Gala incident.’

“Flutters is right–” Rainbow Dash said, covering up a yawn, “– can still help.”

‘They definitely haven’t slept since yesterday. Not even the upper-class unicorn Rarity has escaped unscathed from their sleeplessness.’

If I needed any actual confirmation of their lack of sleep, it was that. The normally vain and appearance-orientated pony’s mane had become rather unkempt, and her eyes were beginning to look bloodshot.

“I assume you’ve already met with Princess Cadence?” I asked.

Cadence was in charge of trying to fix the mess outside the castle. That meant directing doctors and nurses who could help, organizing the wounded, finding supplies for everything, and most importantly of all, coordinating with all the changelings and ponies who actually did all of those duties.

Twilight nodded, “We’ve been helping her for the past few hours. She… uh, advised that we find another way to be helpful.”

“Did she?” I smirked.

“.... Yes,” Twilight said.

“You sound unsure,” I remarked. “Did Cadence tell you to find me, or did she tell you to get some rest?”

“We can’t rest till the job’s done,” Applejack said, shaking her head.

“While we can still make a difference,” Rarity agreed, “we have the moral obligation to try.”

‘Well…. I never expected ponies to be chomping at the bit to help changelings. Now, is this just an exception to the rule, or will there actually be some sort of cooperation? On that topic, I should check in with Thorax and see how he and Cadence are doing, and how cooperative they’re being.’

I cleared my throat, “You have the moral obligation to go the fuck to sleep, that’s what you have. If you want to help, fine, but first you’re getting no less than nine hours of rest. Eat, shower, sleep. Luna, do we have any spare rooms for them?”

Luna looked up, “Hmm? Oh, not quite. They will have to dorm together, Three to a room. That is the most we can spare right now, as the rest of the castle’s spare rooms are being used for displaced ponies.”

I nodded, “There you have it. Go get something to eat, then get some rest. Nine hours from now, I’ll have a messenger give you a list of things you can help with– in fact, I’ll be sure to give that list to Cadence or Thorax. You’ll know him when you see him, if I do choose Thorax.”

“That’s very generous of you,” Twilight said, “but we want to help now.”

“You’re not going to,” I shook my head. “Go. I’m thankful for your offer of help, but it’ll do no one good if you’re asleep on your hooves.”

“Princess?” Twilight asked Luna, seeking a different answer.

Luna lowered the clipboard, “Raven. Send this to Celestia at once. No one is to see it other than her. Also, find a guard, and have them send a message to my niece; we are meeting tonight in Celestia’s quarters.”

The aide next to her bowed and retrieved the report from Luna.

“At once, Your Highness. Desk, cover for me,” the aide said, motioning to one of her assistants to step up as she left the throne room.

“Now,” Luna began, “what Phasma said is true; you six are working too hard. Your hard work is not unappreciated, and certainly has not gone unnoticed, but the last thing we need is dealing with ponies who are collapsing from exhaustion. Please, my friends, you have done enough for today. There will be others who will pick up the slack. Rest.”

The last bit of resistance faded away, and the Element of Laughter’s mane deflated.

“Yes, Princess…” Twilight sighed.

Groaning, Applejack motioned for the rest to follow, “C’mon, girls, let’s get out from underhoof.”

As they left, Luna leaned close to me.

“Celestia will have answers by the time we see her tonight. This is most troubling, but I am certain there is another side to the story.”

“I agree,” I murmured back. “It wouldn’t make sense for her to betray us.”

“May the next petitioner come forward,” Luna announced, and I nodded to my changelings for the same.

I stifled a yawn and looked over my own schedule. I had about five more hours of this, then I would have to see Obturator’s goons for a medical checkup on my wounds. Then dinner. Then meeting with Cadence, and apparently Celestia now. Then…

‘Tarsus.’

“Your Majesty.”

Quick Search, Bray Call, and Warm Dew were standing before me, while a dark purple mare pleaded to Luna nearby.

“Hey guys,” I greeted them. “I’m pretty sure we’re on a first-name basis now. Or, whatever the equivalent is for changelings and ponies.”

“How’re you feeling?” Bray asked.

I shrugged– and immediately winced, “Alive. The rest will get better over time. Though I’m afraid that my free time will never recover from this. You three?”

“I sprained an ankle,” Dew announced, lifting a hoof to show me.

“We’re okay,” Search smiled. “We don’t want to take up too much of your time, especially since we already had a private meeting, but, uh… There is something we want. Bray and I, that is. Warm Dew is just here to say hi.”

“Alright, what is it?”

“We’ve been thinking,” Search announced.

“Uh oh,” I joked.

“And I’ve decided not to become a Royal Guard.”

“Oh?” My eyebrows raised. “What’s your new plan? And how does Bray fit into it?”

“If you’d have us, we’d like to stay in Canterlot,” he announced. “I would like to join your army, the Red Right Hoof, correct? Bray would love to… er…”

“If you have a spot open for an assistant position, or anything like that, I’d love to actually make a difference in the world,” Bray announced. “I’m fine with starting from the bottom and doing things like getting coffee, as long as I can actually move upward. That is, if you’ll have me?”

“Wow,” I blinked, “that was unexpected. I, uh, sure. Why not? Welcome aboard, I’m sure there’ll be no problem finding a place for you two. Search, you’ll have to track down Captain Katydid and inform him that you’re now a member of the… Red Right Hoof. A pony in my changeling army…. Bray, you’ll have to find Cricket and…” I paused. “... You’ll find Cricket’s current replacement. How about you, Dew? Are you planning on getting a ticket into Canterlot?”

Our conversation paused for a moment as a pony, a green unicorn this time, started breaking down and thanking Luna profusely. Luna tried her best to be humble, but whatever it was that Luna did or promised to do, it meant the world to the pony.

‘A lot of lives have changed today.’

Warm Dew cleared his throat, “My place is in my hometown. Duty, family, and the fact that I’ve already made a down payment on a house means that I must stay.”

“Alright,” I shrugged. “You’re welcome to visit anytime. So long as you’re not waking me up, that is.”

Dew smiled and nodded, “Thank you. I’ll be sure to visit my friends often. I will miss them, all three of them.”

“Three? What’s– Oooh,” I chuckled. “You ponies and your sappy friendship rhetoric. I’ll look forward to our get-togethers. Now, I don’t want to seem like I’m getting rid of you three as soon as possible–”

“But you’re very busy,” Search said, motioning me to stop. “Don’t worry, we’ll find these changelings as soon as we can.”

I sighed, “Thank you for understanding. Tell them to arrange for a place to stay, too, as I imagine you don’t have anywhere cheap to stay in Canterlot.”

“We’ll get right to that,” Bray said. “For now, it was nice seeing you, and we’re happy to hear that… you’ll recover, at least. You’ve faced worse injuries.”

The other two ponies nodded along.

I snorted, and rolled around my front right hoof, testing it, “That I have. Take care, you three. I’ll see you two as soon as I can, though it may be a few days until I have the time.”

Dew gave Search and Bray a goodbye hug, and a hoofbump for me, before departing. One of my changeling aides guided the other two away, and they waved to me as they left.

The rest of the afternoon followed similar patterns of short conversations, orders being given, and the occasional interruption from Luna as our work crossed paths. Thankfully, there were no more huge surprises. Instead, there was only the growing mountain of work to be done in order to minimize the loss of life and to facilitate the partial integration of the new changelings into the Fifth Hive.

By the time the end of our court session rolled around, I was feeling quite overwhelmed. My small army of changeling aides dwindled as they were sent off with assigned duties and tasks, leaving me with just a hooffull of lings left. The open court session ended with me having more work to do than before it started. Though, I suppose that was the point of it.

Distressingly, neither of us saw hide nor hair of Blueblood and his sycophants. Keep your friends close and enemies closer, as they say, and Blueblood was suspiciously absent from the dissenting nobles that came to waste Luna's time.

Afterward, Luna dropped me off in the castle's medical wing, while she saw her own doctors and 'attended ladylike functions,' to quote her.

Meaning she had to take a shit.

While the lings fussed over the current state of my battered carapace, a team of doctors stood by, all disheveled and overworked in appearance, jotting down notes as they listened.

While the physicians looked me over, Obturator paid me a visit.

"My King," he bowed as he entered the crowded operating room.

No other room had enough space for everyone who wanted to take a peek at my body. The thought made me even more self-conscious about this world's fondness for nudity.

"Obturator," I said, looking over the head of a nurse. "Save me."

"I'm afraid I can't do that, My King," he replied, lacking any sincere pity. "I'm here to announce that we've done what we can."

"Excuse me? Could you clarify that?"

"Stretch out your right forearm," a changeling doctor told me, and I complied as I listened.

"There's a long list of surgeries to be done, but for the most part, we've done all we can to help the injured. The rest is up to the ponies' skilled surgeons, and to the healing pods. Though, I'm afraid that the waiting list for one of those is months long."

"How many has Thorax allowed to be used?" I asked, remembering that it would fall under his list of duties.

"As many as possible right now, but those are for life-threatening injuries. Maybe about two hundred. Anything more will break our 'budget,' to quote him. After the life-threatening injuries, we'll only keep fifteen in use."

I sighed, "I'm sure we can foot that expense. Has he heard back from Pharynx yet?"

I was meeting with them tonight, but if I could get any news quicker, I would be happy.

Obturator shook his head, "No."

"Very well. You've saved lives, Obturator. For that, you have my eternal thanks. Any idea how many weren’t saved?"

‘I can count the ones I killed myself. I… don’t want to. Bastards. Stupid fucking morons. Why couldn’t they all have surrendered? All because I froze up and didn’t say anything more…. Maybe. Damn it all!’

The doctors, both changelings and ponies, paused and held their breaths.

Obturator looked pale, as much as a changeling could, “.... The fighting outside the Plaza was brutal at times. Many lings are still missing in action…”

“Captain Obturator,” I begged, “how many?”

“... Four-hundred-sixty-five,” he revealed. “So far. Another twenty-eight will die tonight, despite our best efforts.” I sank into my chair as he continued, “More than a third of that was outside the Plaza, where fighting street-to-street was especially fatal. Many lings didn’t get medical aid until it was too late. In addition, the chaos of the Bloodbath led to a stampede. Many changelings took to the air, but others panicked, or were stopped in some way… As for pony casualties, there seems to be at least ninety-seven Royal Guards who were killed, but we expect the final number to be around one-hundred-and-fifteen. One-thirty at the highest.”

The air was filled with the horror, sorrow, and disgust from the ponies present. 

‘I need a frame of reference…’

“How many have died during the war? How many changelings are still alive?”

Obturator just shook his head, “We don’t know. From what we can tell, a fifth of the Fourth Hive was lost. From Daybreaker’s relentless attacks on the Central Swarm to yesterday’s bloodbath, the specialist divisions took heavy casualties to cover the retreat. When Daybreaker did manage to hit the large formations, it was painful. The Underhive took the rest.”

“A couple thousand, then,” I muttered, thinking about the size of our species. “If only three thousand died, that still could be more than ten percent of our entire species. But twenty percent? One in five changelings have died in the past year.”

I felt less guilty and torn up than I thought I should.

I decided to voice my thoughts out loud, “Thousands dead. A decidedly less bloody conflict than what I’m really used to hearing about, but then again, that was with populations over ten thousand times our own. What’s the worst war in pony history?”

None of the doctors wanted to give me an answer.

“Probably the unification wars,” I continued. “I’ll have to ask Luna… What’s been done with their bodies?”

“They’re being gathered, My King. We’ve cordoned off the area where they are so no one sees, but considering a third of the ponies have wings, and all of the changelings…”

“Let them see. Make sure to take as many pictures as you can,” I added. “Find a camera crew, or as many cameras as you can. Take as many pictures as possible: changelings, ponies, devastation, the encampment in the Plaza– anything you think might be interesting. A fifth of our species was lost. The best we can do is try to immortalize the horror for future generations, and for everyone who wasn’t here last night. We will send them off tomorrow.”

“Yes, My King,” Obturator sighed, and he turned to leave.

“Captain?”

“Yes, My King?”

“Take an extra ration of love. You and everyone else hard at work. Whenever you all get your next break, take a double ration. You deserve it.”

“Others need that love more than us,” Obturator bristled.

“We can wait until Prince Pharynx comes back with love from the old hive. The Fifth Hive’s stores here in Canterlot can survive for a week at least. Just tell Thorax, okay?”

“Sir….” He tried to argue, but swayed uneasily on his hooves.

“And get some sleep, Obturator.”

“.... Yes, My King.”





Celestia was looking marginally better than the last time I saw her. However, she was still small, discolored, fatigued, and overall overworked and overstrained.

Luna and I sat next to her bed as she held a piece of paper between her hooves. Sighing, Celestia placed the paper on top of a large stack next to her, on top of her blanket.

"So…" I said slowly. "How are you feeling?"

"More miserable than last night," Celestia admitted.

"An improvement," Luna said dryly. "Better to feel pain than the dulled sense of nothing at all."

"So they keep telling me," Celestia muttered out of the corner of her mouth. "Yes, the doctors say I am improving. How fares the Kingdom?"

Luna pointed out the nearest window, where Canterlot’s skyline was visible, "There is a lot of damage to recover from. Unfortunately, this time the damage is not measured in bits but in lives lost. Say what you will about the headaches that Phasma's invasion caused, at least then there were no funerals to attend."

"Do we have a total?" Celestia asked.

"No," Luna lied. "There is still much to… uncover in the city proper."

"What is the running tally?"

"I do not know," Luna continued to lie.

"Do not coddle me, sister," Celestia said, feeling more sorrow than anger. "Phasma. I know you have the total. That's the kind of thing you would know. Which is good, as I do not want somepony in my castle in charge who cares not about the lives of those underneath him. How many have died?"

I looked to Luna, who closed her eyes and nodded.

"Four-hundred-seventy changelings, one hundred ponies," I listed the numbers from the top of my head. "Not final."

Celestia stared ahead, past us. There was sorrow within her, as well as traces of anger, but the emotions were dull and distant. Like embers within a wall-sized fireplace, the emotions that Celestia gave off were shadows of what they were normally.

"Very well then," she said softly. "Any other news?"

‘I’m not sure if her lack of response is from thousands of years of experience with death, or if it's just her mental state right now. She always did try to keep her emotions under control, but this is concerning. Better just move on.’

"You got our message? About the, uh… attack?" I asked.

"Indeed. The mare in question has been fetched, and should arrive within the next hour."

"Cadence will be here in a minute," Luna announced. "She wishes to hold a meeting. The topic of three new royals to our lands is something that Cadence does not quite know how to handle."

"It was certainly a surprise," Celestia remarked. "But if Harmony brings us three more warriors for the coming war, then I am pleased to hear it."

"Even if one of them is Chrysalis?" Luna asked, eyebrow raised.

Celestia stared back, "She is a capable fighter. I know that from experience. Her presence will spare lives."

"Is that… all you are feeling?" I pressed, knowing there was more to it.

Celestia looked away, towards the nearest window.

"Should I give into anger? Shall I submit to sorrow and rage once more, opening the floodgates for something terrible? Should I be elated that a mass murderer is being given any sort of clemency? The righteous path is a difficult one to walk. My usual coping methods have been sternly vetoed by the physicians; not a single drop, they said."

"You can drown yourself in friends and family instead," Cadence stated as she stepped into Celestia's room, shutting the door behind her.

Celestia smiled weakly, "Hardly an adequate substitute, but I'm already numb, so I suppose I'm halfway there already. Good evening Cadence, how are you?"

Cadence levitated one of the upholstered chairs over to us.

"Tired," Cadence admitted. "I took a nap shortly after noon, but I'm looking forward to getting some real sleep tonight. Won't even…" She paused to yawn, "... have fun with Shiny. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about," she winked and elbowed Luna.

"Indeed," Luna chuckled, giving me an amused glance.

"Luna, the Princess of Food is making me feel uncomfortable. You’re not helping, either."

"I did come here to do more than tease stallions," Cadence said. "I was hoping to speak to you three about our newest… equals."

“It certainly is an interesting development,” Celestia noted. “Seemingly overnight, our numbers have doubled.”

Cadence glanced at me, “All of them changelings, yes. While I am happy for… Prince Thorax, as he certainly has earned his place alongside Phasma, what about Pharynx and Chrysalis? Or, Prince Pharynx and Princess Chrysalis, rather? I’ll never get used to calling that warmonger a princess…”

“‘Tis better than the alternative,” Luna said. “We offer forgiveness for all who want it, so let Chrysalis be judged, then let her walk the path of redemption.”

Celestia put a hoof on her chin, “It won’t be easy for her. There is a lot to make up for. There is a lot more that cannot be made right. I believe that, if my understanding of our ponies is correct, she will not be welcomed in Equestrian society for at least a decade. Likely far more. We have certainly not helped in this case, as we condemned her time and time again in exchange for pushing Phasma out of the spotlight.”

“This all hinges on her actually wanting to change,” I pointed out. “She seemed quite… content last we saw her.”

“Oh, she’s going to change, whether she wants to or not,” Luna said darkly. “She will redeem herself, even if she is kept in irons the whole time.”

Cadence cleared her throat, “Auntie Luna is right. We have to push Chrysalis. We cannot let her do things at her own pace, as that could take centuries, if her redemption happens at all. We need to move quickly when it comes to changing her callousness and brutality. We certainly will not finish before the Nightmares come, but we can at least make enough progress to trust her on the battlefield.”

“You already can,” I sighed. “Chrysalis will not jeopardize any battle with the Umbrum for freedom, payback, or anything else. At the very least, she takes her duty to protect changelings somewhat seriously, and won’t do any funny business while our species is in danger.”

“And you are okay with putting her on trial?” Cadence asked.

“Of course I am. As long as I am one of the judges, Chrysalis can face the consequences of her actions.”

Celestia shook her head, “We mustn't forget that this wasn’t only Chrysalis’s doing. Daybreaker escalated the war. I– she was the one who began killing changelings.”

“We will take that into consideration during Chrysalis’s trial,” Luna reassured her sister by placing her hoof over one of Celestia’s. “Let those thoughts sleep for another night. Cadence, how are the ponies and changelings you have seen today?”

“A lot of the ponies are confused, scared, and angry,” Cadence revealed. “Getting them back home is an undertaking that is taking up countless marehours, namely overseeing their safety, feeding them, and transporting them back home. Thankfully, many of the captains and companies that own private airships are offering to ferry ponies to their homes, free of charge.”

Celestia smiled, “Ah, my ponies. I’m glad they open their hearts without the need for guidance or orders.”

Cadence smiled back, “I think we’re all happy for that. Indeed, so many ponies are rising to the task that no pony will sleep outside tonight. Many ponies in Canterlot are opening their homes to the refugees, and I know of at least a few ponies in the surrounding towns that are offering to house the refugees. Applejack is one of them.”

Luna glanced at the papers by Celestia’s side, “That was the good news. What about the changelings?”

Cadence paused, “.... Not as well, I’m afraid. Though, that is not entirely the fault of our ponies. The changelings refused to stay in the homes of ponies who offered, which admittedly was far fewer in number than those offering shelter for ponies. They seemed happier to stay with their kin outdoors. Thankfully, the Crystal Caves have been emptied to the point where changelings can move back into them.”

“Those damn caves,” Celestia cursed.

‘Heh, looks like someone is picking up on non-pony curses, like her sister.’

“Perhaps I should grant them permanently to you, Phasma,” Celestia wondered. “They seem to be causing quite a lot of problems for us. I would sleep better at night knowing that an army stands between us and an entrance to this ‘Underhive’. Moreover, it would be considerably harder to invade Equestria with that back door locked and sealed shut.”

I gasped, “You’re using my species as a meatshield? Celestia, I didn’t know you had it in you! Of course I’ll take the prime real estate in the most expensive city on the planet! Should make an excellent place for a hive. Plenty of room for storage, living, training, and more. Heh, our entire species living in what will be the biggest wine cellar in history. I love it.”

“Now…” Cadence started to say. However, she seemed unsure how to continue, “... This might sound strange, but didn’t Thorax and Pharynx seem quite calm about the whole immortality thing?”

“Their reaction was tame,” Luna agreed.

“I haven’t had the chance to really talk to them, but Thorax did seem a bit surprised,” I said. “Only a bit, though.”

Cadence hummed in thought, “... Becoming an alicorn wasn’t an immediate thing. I was taken to a plane of… of…”

“Harmony,” Celestia provided.

Cadence scooted closer, “Right. Yes. Harmony. I saw flashes of what I did to earn my horn: a witch I saved and her life before and after meeting me. I wouldn’t be surprised if Thorax and Pharynx saw something like that.”

“They haven’t said anything,” I shrugged. “Perhaps I will– someone’s at the door,” I announced a second before a pony knocked loudly.

“Are we expecting company?” Cadence asked.

Luna stood up and headed to the door, while Celestia caught Cadence up to speed. Meanwhile, I moved my wheelchair and Luna’s chair to face the newcomer. As Cadence moved her own spot, the mare in question entered the room, escorted in by Luna.

“Agent Daring Do,” Celestia greeted.

“Princess,” Daring bowed. “To what do I owe the… pleasure?”

She eyed Luna and the guards closing the door wearily. Luna strode past her and sat back down next to me, keeping a cool gaze on the explorer. I was thankful to have her back at my side; for all the comparisons I could make about Celestia's emotional health being embers of a once raging fire, having Luna next to me all day was like cuddling up to a cozy fire after braving a snow storm so bad I had icicles on my eyebrows.

The only downside to having her love was that soon I would have to start parting with it. The drones needed to eat, too, and I wouldn't have the luxury of an excuse to hoard it all for myself.

“Agent, I would like to know about your whereabouts and activities during the battle yesterday,” Celestia announced. “Princess Cadence, Princess Luna, and King Phasma are visiting me, but you are allowed to speak before all of them.”

“Allowed?” Daring echoed. “I see. Well, Your Highness, I was in Lower Canterlot, helping civies get to safety. There were a lot of roaming changeling patrols, and I had to make sure they didn't rip apart everypony they came across. No offense, King Phasma," she offered with an awkward smile.

I continued to stare silently at her.

'You better have an airtight alibi. Especially since your actions don't make any sense. Division-P can disguise, but we have to make sure.'

"You never set hoof in the Palace?" Celestia asked.

Daring paused, ".... No."

"You hesitated there," Luna pointed out.

"I was recounting my actions, Your Highness. Retracing my steps. I was never on Palace grounds, no."

Celestia removed a few papers from her pile and presented them, "Then why are multiple witnesses placing you inside the Palace during the invasion?"

"I was never inside the Palace," Daring said, certain of herself.

But her emotions betrayed her true feelings; Daring Do was anything but confident. Fear leaked into her words, unfelt by the non-changelings in the room. Not the concern that someone was disguising as her and muddying her name, but the fear of being caught.

'A lie. So, she was in the Palace.'

"The witnesses also state that you attacked Royal Guards and changelings," Celestia continued.

"I would never!" Daring nearly shouted in indignation.

'Anger. No fear at all. Potentially the truth, then.'

Celestia glanced at me but continued when I gave no response, "We believe an attack was made by Division-P last night, during the chaos. They took advantage of the war to attack the Palace, and they made off with most of the artifacts from the First Hive. Do you have any knowledge about this?"

"No, Your Highness," she shook her head.

Daring glanced at me. A momentary flick of her eyes, yet it collaborated with her internal conflict to tell me something more.

"She knows," I announced, piecing together the truth from her emotions. "Why are you lying to us, Daring Do? What are you afraid of? Have I failed you in some way? Have I proven myself unworthy of trust?"

I was laying it on thick, and even Daring saw the crocodile tears for what they were. Still, she had to answer.

"I'm not afraid of you, King Phasma. I swear that I've done nothing against you. I certainly haven't raised a hoof against ponies loyal to Equestria."

"Ponies loyal to Equestria," Cadence repeated. "So you fought ponies that were disloyal?"

Daring fidgeted around, "Yes. I have, Princess."

'She at least believes that to be true. Or, she remembered that a changeling is in the room, and is bringing her emotions under control again.'

“Please, Agent Daring, be honest with us,” Celestia pleaded.

“I…” Daring huffed. “I was in the Palace.”

“Why did you deny this?” Luna asked.

Once again, Daring looked at me while thinking of an answer.

“I… I can’t say. I’m sorry, but I just can’t.”

‘She certainly feels sorry. Though, now that I’ve played my hoof, her emotions can’t be trusted to be genuine.’

“Some changelings say that you attacked them,” I said.

Daring frowned, “.... I didn’t have a choice. I… They wanted to detain me, or stop me.”

“What were you doing?” Celestia pressed.

“I can’t say.”

“Am I not the highest power in the land?” Celestia questioned. “Anything you say can be classified. Anything you reveal can be protected.”

Daring shook her head, “I made a promise. I’m sorry, Princess Celestia, but I can’t say.”

“A promise?” Cadence leaned forward, “A promise to whom?”

“I can’t say,” Daring shrugged. “I made a promise to keep what I was doing a secret, and the individual that I made the promise to… I can’t talk about them.”

“Not even if I am ordering you to tell me?” Celestia asked.

Daring cringed, “.... No, Princess. I’m sorry. I want to, but I can’t. I understand if you plan on arresting me, but this is too important.”

“What can you tell us?” I asked, exasperated. 

Daring looked down at the floor, “.... Division-P attacked the Palace. I was in the Palace at the time, dealing with changelings who were assaulting the main Palace cafeteria– most of the staff had holed up in there. After leading a successful counterattack– as my archeologist disguise, of course– I came across Division-P attacking some Royal Guards and changeling soldiers in the halls, with the goal of taking all of the artifacts. I found out that they were Division-P after the fact, I just figured that they were changelings disguised as Royal Guards.”

I raised an eyebrow, “So you can tell us what you were doing?”

“I can tell you all of that. But I can’t tell you anything more,” she sighed.

“You don’t recognize this charm?” I asked, bringing up my Weave portal amulet for her to see.

Her eyes widened a fraction of an inch, and a wave of nervousness surged forth from her. Only for a moment, however, before she clamped down on her nerves with an iron fist. Hoof. Same thing.

‘Gotcha.’

“Mmmmmm yes. Yes. I did use and abandon that amulet,” she admitted.

I blinked in surprise, “You figured out what it was? And you somehow casted a teleportation spell despite being a pegasus?”

“Anypony can cast a spell,” she huffed, “you just have to be clever about it. Really though, magical charms and devices can be used by most ponies if proper techniques and workarounds are used. Everypony is capable of channeling magic, just in different ways.”

“You managed to channel magic…. into a teleport spell?” I asked, though I didn’t believe she had an answer.

The three alicorns shared in my incredulity, though they waited patiently for an answer.

“..... I can’t say any more,” Daring Do muttered.

'I saw a blur of color. Orange and purple. Daring is neither of those. So, whoever else was involved most certainly used the charm.'

I rolled my eyes and motioned for Celestia to continue.

“Very well. Agent Daring Do, do you swear that you fought in the name of Equestria, that you did not harm changelings outside of a necessity to escape, that you only harmed Royal Guards who have turned their back on Equestria, and that you have not otherwise acted against the Canterlot Confederacy?"

"I swear," Daring said without hesitation.

"Then we will discuss this at length another time. Please see yourself out," Celestia motioned to the door.

"Yes, Your Highness," Daring bowed.

"Wait, what?!" I exclaimed. "You're letting her go without answers? She's clearly lying about the artifacts!"

"Do you intend on arresting her for assaulting your changelings?" Celestia asked.

'Daring saved my life. I saved hers in return, but I suppose she's always acted somewhat fairly. Though, she's proven to be less than reliable when it comes to our artifacts.'

I glared at Daring Do. She avoided my stare, instead looking down at the floor.

'She's hiding something. Someone, rather. Someone involved in all this mess, someone capable of using a teleportation spell. Yes, that's it; a unicorn that is acting without orders from either Crown, yet somehow not acting against us? How many ponies are actually capable of teleportation? I'll ask Celestia later, right now the question is about Daring. If I detain her, it will cause problems, and she has proven unwilling to provide answers. That means I'll have to find other ways to get the information.'

"No, you may leave, Daring Do," I dismissed her.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," she said with a slight bow, before turning to leave.

"I will find who you are protecting," I declared suddenly.

She stopped for a second before saying, "I don't doubt that for a minute."

When the door shut behind her, Cadence and Luna both turned to stare at Celestia.

"What?" Celestia huffed. "Daring is a trusted agent, loyal to Equestria. She's earned a bit of trust. If she says that it is important that this affair remains unclear, then we shall not go looking in the shadows."

"You won't, but I will," I said.

"I must side with Phasma on this one," Cadence admitted.  "Ponies and changelings were attacked. We need clarity, not confusion. Phasma is putting a lot of faith in our Agent, considering the wellbeing of his subjects are in question."

I gave a half-nod to Cadence, and she reciprocated the gesture.

"You should not lose track of your most clandestine agents, sister," Luna rebuked. "If you do not know their every move, you may find that you do not know their every motive."

"We can trust Daring Do," Celestia insisted.

"I seem to be trusting far too many people who haven't earned all that trust," I said. "Daring saved my life, but this affects more than just me. Changelings were hurt, and someone used the teleportation charm, and it wasn't her."

"She did say that she expected you to find out who," Cadence pointed out. "You certainly have cause to keep investigating."

"Which is why I let her go unimpeded," I concluded.

"Investigate all you like," Celestia said, "but do not interrogate anypony without permission."

"If I have to detain a pony, I'll run it by Luna."

"Thank you," Celestia sighed. “Before you all depart for the night, there is one more business to attend to.”

“We’re all ears,” Cadence smiled.

“It is… neither good news nor bad news,” Celestia declared, “simply a new development. I have absolute confirmation that a Hero has taken control over one of Griffonia’s warring factions. We can expect his triumph in their civil war in a matter of time.”

Luna grimaced and fell back into her chair, “Certainly sounds like bad news.”

“Hero?” I echoed, looking between Luna and Celestia.

“An immortal, like us,” Celestia explained. “Griffon Heroes are….”

“Champions of strength,” Luna picked up where her sister left off. “If one has arisen, we can expect a rise in Griffonian strength, both politically and militarily. Do we know who this Hero is, and what he is like?”

Celestia shook her head, “Not yet. However, given the terrible crucible that this Hero was forged in, we might have to expect the worst.”

“So in addition to the Nightmares, we might be fighting Griffons?” I asked.

“Possibly,” Luna sighed. “Griffonia is a long ways away from being capable of fielding an army capable of going on the offense, correct?”

“Correct,” Celestia confirmed, “we do not have to worry right now. We should attempt to make contact as soon as possible. If we can ingratiate ourselves, or at least get an idea of who this griff is, we might be able to head off any hostilities before they can begin.”

“Sounds like a job for you,” I shrugged.

Celestia winced, “Cadence, the task may fall to you if the civil war is resolved too quickly. I am in no shape to make any sort of diplomatic appearance. Now, if that is all, Luna and I must attend to our sun and moon."





I winced as I tapped my nose. The healing potion they gave me was still working its magic, meaning I was still quite fragile. My nose in particular was quite sensitive.

'It was a close fight, wasn't it?' I asked my reflection in the mirror.

"Bit for your thoughts?" Luna asked as she slowly strode into the bathroom.

"I've never had a broken nose before," I said, looking at her through the mirror.

"Alicorns heal quickly, and it seems that rings true for all comparable immortals."

"Doesn't make it hurt any less," I whined. "And I'm still too dizzy to stand for a long period of time, to say nothing about how painful that would be."

Luna checked over my bandages, and then her own, "We all have walked away with substantial injuries. You and Celestia have, at the very least. Perhaps you should… how did you put it… 'get good?'"

"I'll keep that in mind," I said under my breath.

"I assumed that you would be eager to rest, Phasma, yet here you are, staring at your reflection. Why don't you join me, and we can enjoy the night together?"

I coughed awkwardly, "As nice as that sounds, you know we are a long way away from any of that. What with all of my broken chitin, blood loss, morphine pumping through my veins…."

Luna gave me a kiss and left me with a big stupid grin.

"Very well, but do not expect that I shall sleep without you. Why are we in the washroom, Phasma? Are you in need of emotional comfort? I assure you, it is better to let it out than bottle it up. I will keep telling you this, if I must."

I sighed and nodded towards the mirror.

"You know Luna…. I don't look like a changeling royal, I don't even look like a drone, and I sure as hell don't look like anything else on this planet. Just some weird bastardization of the two. I'll always be set apart, with no one who looks like me, let alone acts like me. I'll never see another human, not even if I had a thousand lifetimes to search the stars. That fact never changes, you know? I am and always will be different. Aberrant. Mutant."

Luna smiled and pushed my muzzle away from the mirror and towards her.

"You are the first changeling I ever met, Phasma. In my mind, you are the base template, not your mother or the drones. Besides that, I find you rather pleasing to the eye, as I have stated and restated countless times. As for the human conundrum, I am sorry to say that there is no solution to that. The pain of loss fades, but never fully leaves us. I can not create a doorway to your home, but I can help take away those hours you spend alone, longing for what once was."

"Thanks, Luna," I said as she embraced me. "I'm glad I can offload some of my issues onto you."

"It is no problem. I know exactly how it feels to feel alone every night; I would not wish that nightmare upon my worst enemy. You… saw what the surface of my moon is like, correct? You know how desolate and barren that Tartarus is. It is beautiful, but I never want to experience any part of it ever again. At times, I can still feel the frost cutting at the edges of my coat…."

I hugged her as tightly as I could, which wasn't much at the moment, "I'll just have to make sure you never feel lonely ever again. In exchange, you will have to sit through all my pity parties. Speaking of sticking with me…. I was planning on slipping away later tonight, but now I don't want you to wake up wondering where I went."

"Where are you off to?"

"The Crystal Caves. I've got something tonight that… I suppose it's alright if you come, but you can't interfere."

"What time are we departing?"

I used a clock spell, "In a bit... It’s going to be late at night."

Luna broke the embrace, "If we shall not enjoy the night the way I want to, then we shall find other ways to busy ourselves. One of your drones dropped something off while you were whining and moping in here. I believe its contents shall hold no small amount of interest."

She brought me back to the main room and levitated over a small wrapped bundle. I dispelled the protective charm and opened the bundle.

A small stack of papers slid out, and I quickly skimmed them.

"Soulmancy," Luna read over my shoulder. "Your underlings have been hard at work."

I clicked my tongue as I reordered the papers, "They made progress before we set off for the First Hive. This seems to be their progress in translating the first book. Luna, would you help me with all of this?"

“No, I would rather leave you unsupervised while trying out a field of magic you are completely unfamiliar with, that has also been outlawed due to its proximity to darker magics, all while having a fragile soul that cannot handle anything strenuous.” Luna lifted a hoof, made to bop me on the nose, only to pause right before connection. “.... Pretend that I have struck you on the nose.”

“Ow!” I yelled, recoiling.

“Do not say something that foolish ever again, or suffer the consequences!”





Luna glanced at the crystals around us, “You sure know how to waste time effectively, Phasma. Why did we have to come all the way down here?”

One of the torches around us, an enchanted piece of crystal, twinkled softly as it gave off a soft green glow.

“Because tonight, I pass judgment upon Tarsus,” I announced, motioning to a pair of Red Right Hoof guards to move out of our way.

“Wait, what?!”

The guards moved, and fifty pairs of eyes looked our way.

We were in the Crystal Caverns, where the changelings were moving back in. Many of the upper tunnels had been sealed and would need to be unsealed, and efforts were already underway to transform the largest sections of the caverns into habitable sections for the lings. Storage rooms, sleeping rooms, recreation rooms, large hallways connecting everything, a gathering room, rooms for growing plants and mycelia imported from the Underhive and from the old hive in the Badlands, training rooms for guards, a few nurseries for eggs, classrooms, a small throne room, offices for all of the bureaucracy required to run the Fifth Hive and its constantly expanding network of assets and businesses, and a courtroom.

Many of those rooms were new concepts to the lings from the Fourth Hive who were unfamiliar with modern society. They would have to adapt quickly; we simply did not have much time before whatever food-stores the Fourth Hive built up would be used up. The courtroom in particular would see its first use tonight. 

“This is what you tried to get away from me for?” Luna questioned. “Fine. Rush the trial if you must, but I will be observing the entire thing.”

Luna wheeled me into a large circular room. 

Wooden tables had been brought in and arranged around the far side of the circle, and red table cloths had been spread over them. Chairs were brought in and formed into a small gallery that was now packed full. Fifth Hive officials had filled the room, with no room for any other observers.

Behind the tables sat the most important changelings: Thorax, Coxa, Lace, Katydid, and a small team of Coxa’s aides that I would have to start learning the names of. I was beginning to lament Cricket’s absence, but I still was unsure how I felt about her. In the center, an empty chair was pushed to the side, and I pointed to it, asking Luna to take us there.

The changelings rose as we slowly made our way through the room, and moved behind the farthest table. Luna positioned me right in the middle and sat down in the chair next to me.

“With this here, it makes me wonder if you had intended for my presence from the beginning,” she said.

“I account for most things,” I said, “but I think someone just forgot that I am not exactly in walking shape right now.”

“Oh. That is a much simpler answer.”

As Luna took her seat, the changelings decided to sit down, too. I was surprised they had an equivalent social rule for standing while a judge entered, especially considering the lack of chairs in the old hive, but I shrugged and moved on.

A pair of changelings brought over pieces of a changeling communication device and assembled it at the far end of our half-circle of tables, next to Thorax. A portal flashed into existence above the assembled mechanism, and Prince Pharynx's face appeared in the portal. The soft hum of airship engines was emanating from the portal.

"You couldn't have chosen a more convenient time, Saint Phasma?" He griped, speaking over the quiet engine sound.

"Tending to those who can be saved was our first priority," I said.

"Everything's ready," Coxa leaned over to whisper.

"Good," I said. "Let the first court of the Fifth Hive commence. Bring him in."

A changeling guard saluted and stepped out of the chamber. The assembled changelings in the gallery began quietly talking to each other. Amongst their number, I saw General Labrum, former-Commander Scorpion and the two guards flanking him and keeping an eye on his chains, and a number of Captains from the Swarm.

"Hey Coxa?" I whispered. "Where's Intelligencer Ocelli, the captain of the Infiltrators?"

The location and whereabouts of one of Chrysalis’s most loyal and skilled spies was something I didn’t want to worry about.

“Daybreaker incinerated her months ago,” Coxa whispered back. “In… Cincinneighti.”

“Oh. Good. Moving on, have you gotten my report about the… thing that happened?”

Coxa rolled his eyes. Or he would have, if he was capable. Instead, he just raised his eyebrows in exasperation.

“I got the report before you. Stinger came to me first, and I told her to immediately give it to you. I’ve already got Lace on the case; I have put her in charge of everything Division-P-related, as well as planning and constructing the hive here in the Crystal Caves.”

“That sounds good,” I nodded. “Is she okay with being around all the stuff that would, err… trigger her PTSD?”

“Rip and tear,” Lacewing whispered over Coxa’s shoulder.

“.... There’s no way that’s going to backfire,” I predicted. "We’ll talk after this, Lace. There's something you need to know, and someone you're going to have to find."

A pair of guards led him into the chamber. The traitor was bound tightly in both warded iron chains and in enchanted changeling-gel bindings. When he entered, heads turned in his direction, and all conversations died down.

His chains rang against the crystal flooring as he was marched before us. 

Tarsus, breaker of the First Fang, murderer of Oestridae, glared at me. He spared a single glance for the rest of the changelings– and paused briefly when he saw Thorax and Pharynx, but it was me who he settled on. He fell back onto his haunches, sitting before us and in front of the gallery of changelings.

He lifted his head, intent on looking down his nose at me.

“The trial of Tarsus the Infiltrator, former member of the First Fang, has come to order,” I announced loudly. “Coxa, read the charges.”

Coxa cleared his throat and rose from his chair, “Tarsus, you stand accused of treachery against the Fifth Hive, namely against the resistance it grew from, betraying the First Fang, and ultimate responsibility for Oestridae’s death. Presiding over this trial are Saint Phasma, Coxa, Lacewing, and Prince Thorax. Prince Pharynx is present for his honorary position on the First Fang but is not part of the tribunal. How do you plead?”

“I serve the Hive Eternal,” he spat.

“Mark it as a plea of innocence,” I said, flicking a hoof at the changeling charged with being the trial’s stenographer.

Tarsus snorted, “Why are we doing this, Phasma? Do you intend on running my name through the mud as much as you can before you murder me? We all know that this won’t be a fair trial. Especially with ponies pulling the strings!” He snarled at Luna.

“Princess Luna is merely here to watch,” I said calmly. “It should be quite clear by now that all that boisterous talk about me being a puppet is nothing more than a mummer’s fearmongering. Isn’t that right, Prince Thorax, and Prince Pharynx?”

“What the hell is a mummer?” Pharynx asked.

“A performer– look, I’m talking about Princess Chrysalis,” I explained, managing to say the former-tyrant’s new title without pausing.

“Our ascension is more than enough proof of that, yes,” Thorax agreed. “I guess you can consider it irrefutable evidence on the matter. Panar herself intervened.”

“This is not how a trial goes at all,” Luna whispered.

“Quiet,” I whispered back. “We will hear your input when we convene, but I would ask that you remain silent until then.” I cleared my throat and addressed the traitor, “First, we must address the matter of betrayal against the Lodges and the nascent Fifth Hive. Your actions immediately put danger upon us all and resulted in many deaths. Lacewing, along with a number of other changelings, were captured by Division-P because of your betrayal. To say that you jeopardized the entire Hive Eternal is an understatement, you endangered everything we fought for.”

“What do you have to say?” Lace demanded.

“No opportunity to give evidence? Or even find it?” Tarsus asked, shaking his head.

“We will hear your side of the story,” I explained.

“I did my duty to the Fourth Hive. I was never part of your Lodges, I was never part of the Fifth Hive, and I most certainly wasn’t aware of a plot to overthrow the Queen in the middle of a war for our survival. When you did decide to inform me that you were going to commit treason of the highest order, I was not given a choice. You made me choose between my duty as an Infiltrator and my duty as your friend. Obviously, I chose the one that I made vows to Panarthropo for.”

“You made vows to the First Fang, but we’re not talking about that,” I said. “So you claim that you were never given a choice?”

“That’s right,” he insisted.

“You didn’t choose to go straight to Chrysalis? You didn’t choose to keep your betrayal a secret?”

“You were the one who betrayed us!” He jabbed a hoof at me. “Your duty as Champion of the Hive Eternal was to safeguard our future! To fight our enemies! To protect the Hive Eternal! Instead, you half-assed the invasion and focused on gaining power for yourself!”

“The invasion was as good as–” I stopped, trying to calm myself down.

‘I have to remain calm, despite the bastard’s best efforts. I have to try to understand all this, act fairly, and set a good precedent.’

“.... So. You thought that I was jeopardizing the Hive Eternal, and you decided to just go to the Queen at the time?”

“Yes…” Tarsus said hesitantly. “As an Infiltrator, I must protect the Hive Eternal. Even if that means making decisions that hurt.”

“You sure don’t seem broken up about all this,” Thorax mumbled.

“So you’re just absolving yourself of all the suffering that came about from your actions?” Lace hissed. “Your decision got many changelings killed. It nearly got me killed!”

The chains clinked as Tarsus turned to address Lace, “We all make sacrifices for the sake of our species. I did what I thought would save the most lives.”

I sighed, “Let’s move onto the second charge. Tarsus, by siding with Chrysalis, you betrayed the First Fang. We were brothers. We watched each other’s backs and constantly looked out for each other. Yet the first opportunity you got, you threw us under the– you tossed us to the wolves. You didn’t just betray the Lodges, you betrayed us. What do you have to say in your defense?”

Tarsus slowly shrugged, the action shaking his metal bindings.

“I made a choice between friendship and duty.”

“We have a duty to protect each other,” Coxa admonished him. “We protect each other. We all have, or had in your case, vows to do what we can to help each other out. You were a member of the First Fang before you were an Infiltrator, so don’t give us any crap about duty.”

“We were friends for a few months,” Tarsus stressed, “nothing more. Yes, I enjoyed our friendship, but being an Infiltrator is a lot more than some unofficial pact.”

“We never mattered to you?” Thorax asked.

“I never said that! I said… I meant that the Hive is above us all. I tried to stop your civil war before it started! I tried to save your lives before you threw them away and doomed us all to burn in the fires of your ambition!”

“You didn’t try to stop anything,” I shook my head. “You simply chose a side. Chrysalis didn’t approach us with an intent of negotiating a peace, nor did you. No, the first we learned about your betrayal was when the Praetorians slaughtered the Lodge members in the Equestrians’ Palace.”

“How can I be held responsible for a Queen’s actions?! I am just a drone! Just an Infiltrator!” He insisted.

“You set in motion events that you could have stopped,” Lace said. “Take responsibility for your own actions, coward!”

He tried to cross his forelegs, “Fine, I guess I did everything in this war, huh? If that’s how you want to play it, then fine. Let’s pretend that I knew that the Queen would rush to slaughter you all, my friends. Let’s pretend I also had a chance of stopping her, but I didn’t. That still brings us back to me choosing between my duties as an Infiltrator, and my duties as a member of the First Fang.”

“It doesn’t matter if you didn’t know what she was going to do, you still betrayed us,” Thorax said. “Is that your defense? That you put being an Infiltrator above being our brother?”

“.... Yes, it is. I am not ashamed to admit that,” he said, sitting up straight.

“The third charge. Oestridae’s death,” I said quietly. “Your betrayal led to his death.”

“Yes, I suppose it did,” Tarsus nodded slowly.

Thorax scanned the Infiltrator, “Do you even feel remorse?”

“Of course I do!” Tarsus yelled, leaping to his hooves.

The guards were on him in a moment, forcing him back down onto the ground. 

“I feel as if I should say something,” Pharynx mumbled as order was restored. “I am the one who killed Oestridae. Let me make that clear to everyling; I killed him. Why… is Tarsus being tried for Oestridae’s death, and not I?”

“Because you are not a member of the First Fang,” Coxa said.

“Because you siding with Chrysalis was out of grief for Thorax’s presumed death,” I added.

“Because you never were on our side,” Thorax said softly, looking down at the ground.

Tarsus looked me in the eyes, “I’m sorry that Oestridae died. I am. He was a good friend, and an even better Praetorian. The Hive Eternal is that much less with his loss. But I acted on information I knew at the time: you and your traitor comrades were about to throw away our entire species for the sake of calling yourself king. You claimed that Queen Chrysalis was going to kill you, but now we all know that that’s not true.”

“We had no way of knowing at the time,” I defended myself.

“Exactly,” he said.

I snarled at him, but held my tongue.

Thorax rose, “You have pleaded your case. Do you have anything more to add?”

Tarsus opened his mouth. Then, he closed it, shaking his head side-to-side.

Thorax continued, “Then this Tribunal shall recess for determination of the charges.”





We all entered a side room and took seats around one singular large table that dominated the room. In the corner, a changeling brought in a typewriter to continue their duties as a stenographer. Though the report for this would be private, I had a feeling that it could be quite useful; if nothing else, it would be a way for future changelings to learn more about the formation of the Fifth Hive and reformation of the Hive Eternal. 

As soon as the soundproof barrier was put up on the door, Luna spun around and stared me down.

“You can not conceivably call that a fair trial.”

“No, it was more of a tribunal,” I admitted.

“We’re not here to prove anything,” Coxa explained, “just see things from his point of view. There’s nothing to prove, anyways; we know what he did.”

Luna shook her head, “Be careful. The path you tread leads to nowhere good.”

I scoffed, “Are you telling me you never executed a traitor?”

Luna cringed, and sorrow seeped out of her like tree sap.

“I, um, I’m sorry,” I apologized. “I shouldn’t have– look, Tarsus picked a side. That choice got a lot of people killed; whether he wants to accept it or not, he’s responsible for the war turning bloody.”

“That’s not true,” Lace interrupted. “You killed Chamberlain Eucharis before knowing about the betrayal, right?”

I frowned, “.... Yes, I think you’re right.”

Pharynx spoke through his communication device, which had been reactivated in this room, “It sounds like we are now discussing the tribunal’s contents instead of the trial itself.”

“Right,” Coxa nodded, “Let’s address the first charge, then: betraying the Lodges and the rebellion as a whole.”

“Should be easy enough,” Lace shrugged. “After all, he clearly sided with the Fourth Hive loyalists.”

Pharynx cleared his throat, “He brought up a good point; he was never on your side. You gonna put every ling on trial that sided with Chrysalis, including me?”

Unfortunately, I had to agree, “It would also set a bad precedent if we were to punish him harshly for siding with Chrysalis. It would be much better for everyone if those who sided with Chrysalis are granted a blanket pardon. However, that doesn’t extend to other crimes they committed, such as betraying the First Fang…”

“Yay,” Pharynx cheered with faux cheer. “Did you hear that, Princess Pony? I am a free ling.”

“Forgive me if I withhold my enthusiasm,” Luna rolled her eyes. “Nevertheless, this is a step in the right direction. Granting clemency to your changelings will smooth over many potential problems. With, as mentioned, exceptions for other laws broken.”

“Glad to hear that the ponies approve,” Pharynx continued.

“Enough,” I cut them off before they could argue more. “Are we ready to vote on the first charge? Yes? Good. I shall start the vote: not-guilty.”

‘We can nail him to the wall for the other stuff, anyways. And just because the Infiltrators and Praetorians are being granted clemency for their loyalties, doesn’t mean that I actually trust them. Those bastards will have to prove themselves on a case-by-case basis.’

“Not guilty,” Thorax voted.

“Not guilty, for this charge,” Lace stressed.

Coxa finished the vote, “Not guilty. Unanimous vote, Tarsus is not guilty of the crime of betraying the Lodges. Guess we should’a told him from the beginning what we were up to, but it’s too late to consider what-ifs. The second charge to be considered is the charge of betraying the First Fang.”

“Fuckin’ guilty,” I said under my breath.

“There doesn’t seem to be much to discuss here,” Thorax said. “He pretty much pleaded guilty to this one.”

“Shall we start the vote right away?” Coxa asked.

“Might as well,” Lace said. “I say he’s obviously guilty.”

Thorax voted next, “Even if he didn’t have a chance to hear us out, he still turned his back on us. He should have at least tried to see things our way. Instead, he dropped us like we were a dead egg. I’m afraid he’s guilty.”

“He chose Chrysalis over us, there are no two ways about that,” Coxa commented. “It was as if becoming an Infiltrator erased all the time we spent together. Guilty.”

I spoke last, “Guilty.”

“Tarsus has been found guilty of betraying the First Fang, unanimous vote,” Coxa announced. “No surprises there. Finally, Oestridae’s death. This is more or less covered by the second charge, but…”

“But I want it on record that Tarsus was the one who was ultimately responsible,” I said. “It matters more than betraying us and siding with Chrysalis: he got one of us killed.”

“There is no greater a failure than letting a brother die,” Pharynx remarked quietly.

“Pharynx is right,” Thorax said, shifting in his seat uncomfortably. “The most important thing we can do is protect each other. Tarsus…. I don’t know where we went wrong, but clearly he doesn’t care about us in the same way we cared about him.”

“Could it have been because of his Infiltrator training?” I asked. “Anyone know about that stuff?”

“Infiltrators have loyalty to the Queen drilled into them quite thoroughly,” Pharynx confirmed. “Lots of mental training, repetition of core values– loyalty to the Queen and Hive Eternal, of course, layers of propaganda, the whole deal. Very little room for free thought.”

Lace stamped a hoof down, “He still must face the consequences of his actions!”

“He may not have killed him,” Coxa said, nodding to Pharynx, “but his betrayal directly led to his death.”

“Start the vote,” I ordered Coxa. “There’s nothing more to be said about this.”

“Voting on Tarsus’s charge of being responsible for Oestridae’s death,” Coxa glanced at the stenographers. “I shall start: guilty.”

“Guilty,” Lace voted.

“Guilty,” Thorax agreed.

“Guilty,” I quickly ended the vote.

“Guilty by unanimous vote,” Coxa summarized. “Now, for the real reason why this meeting was needed; it is time to decide Tarsus’s punishment for the crimes he is guilty of. Those crimes were betraying the First Fang and causing Oestridae’s death.”

“No chance of having my own opinion weighed on the matter?” Luna asked, looking around the room, settling her gaze on me. “Phasma, I advise caution. You are heading into territory you do not understand.”

“I am quite familiar with what we are doing,” I dismissed her worry. “Rest assured, this is far more fair than any sort of trial held in the Hive Eternal for the past who knows how many generations. We do not have to examine the evidence, only reasoning, and we have heard his reasoning. Now, we must decide the punishment for betraying the First Fang.”

“Execution,” Lace said.

“Oh Faust,” Luna sighed as she face-hoofed.

Pharynx sighed, and his portal winked out of existence.

“For betraying the First Fang?” Thorax glanced at Lace. “Isn’t that too much?”

“.... I agree with Thorax,” Coxa tapped the table. “Betraying the First Fang, while bad, does not warrant death. Banishment should suit that just fine.”

“Banishment, then,” Lace shrugged, leaning back in her seat.

“All in favor of banishment for this charge?” I asked the group.

“Aye,” Coxa said.

“Aye,” Lace repeated.

“.... Yes,” Thorax said after a moment of thinking.

“Aye. Banishment it is. And the second charge, the death of Oestridae?” I questioned.

“That’s execution,” Lace insisted. “And I will not be convinced otherwise. I suffered for months because of that rat-shit. Oestridae is dead because of that scum-sucker. My chitin may heal, but Oest isn’t coming back.”

‘Not unless Chrysalis’s necromancy actually works. Which, considering it failed, I wouldn’t put too much faith in her skills. Then again, it clearly wasn’t her fault….’ 

“I vote for execution as well,” I said to no one’s surprise. “Blood for blood. He didn’t take us seriously. He used us. He betrayed us and got a brother killed. And now, he reaps what he sows.”

“Agreed,” Coxa nodded. “His actions must have consequences. Execution.”

We all looked at Thorax.

“Uh,” he stammered as his ears splayed backwards. “I don’t… That’s not… Ugh! Phas! I need a word with you,” he yelled as he shot out of his seat.

When he approached me, Luna stood up and backed off respectfully. Thorax then projected a small silencing bubble– a trick which surprised me– and then began babbling.

“Phas, I don’t want to do this! This is my first act as a Prince, and I’m scared that I’ll fuck it up! My gut says no execution can ever be warranted, but my time in the Hive says otherwise. I want your advice. Tell me what I should think.”

I pointed a hoof at the door, “Tarsus made his choice. He sided with Chrysalis, and threw us to the–”

“No!” He interrupted me. “I don’t want to talk to King Phasmatodea, I want to talk to Phas, my friend. I want my friend’s advice. Please.”

I grunted in annoyance and glared at him.

“Alright, I…. what is it, Thorax?”

He shuffled closer and looked down at the ground, “Phas. I have never had this much responsibility. I don’t want to make a mistake that will haunt me forever. I want your advice, I want to know what I should do.”

I sighed and rubbed my face as I thought about what to say.

“Thorax… I invited you to the First Fang not because… How do I put this? I considered you a risk. A liability. The odds of you messing up and revealing everything was high.” He started to cringe, so I continued, “But! I considered you more than worth the risk. I…. wanted your morality, Thorax. I knew that you would make choices that I didn’t necessarily agree with, but would always be morally right. I didn’t want a yes-ling, I wanted someone whose conscience I could trust.”

“My gut says to oppose you all and veto the execution sentence,” he admitted.

I felt a pain in my chest.

“Thorax. He… They killed Oestridae. They killed me,” I said, starting to blink away the hints of tears. “Do you think sparing them will change anything? That it will undo the hurt they did?”

“No, but I know it will help us move on from his loss. We can’t keep up this cycle of hatred, Phas.”

“We can end it by killing them first,” I pointed out.

He shook his head, “Violence will only breed more violence. We have to be better. We have to find a way to resolve this without death.”

‘That’s not how it works! That’s not how– grrrr!’

I let out a long, silent breath, letting out all of the air in my lungs. It didn’t help the pain of loss at all.

“Then…. do that. Oppose us. You came this far because you followed your heart. I disagree with you, from my heart to my mind, but I chose you for a reason, Thorax. I trust you. I trust your instincts, your morals. And Panar does, too, judging by the fact that you’ve got pupils ‘n stuff now. Just… don’t expect us to go easy on the bastard.”

‘As much as I want justice for Oest, I can’t just completely overrule Thorax. That would defeat the entire point of having him in the First Fang. If he says that Tarsus shouldn’t die, then…. Hmm…..’

Thorax dispelled the silencing field and returned to his seat.

“What did he say?” Luna whispered. “May I know?”

“You’ll see,” I told her.

I was sick of this already.

“I cannot vote to execute Tarsus,” Thorax declared.

“Oh come on!” Lace whined.

“Figured as much,” Coxa muttered.

My head pounded.

“Why? Why!? Does nothing he did matter to you?!” Lace hounded Thorax.

Thorax put up his hooves, “Please, let me talk! There has to be another solution to all of this!”

“Phas, cast your vote and stop this nonsense,” Lace sighed.

My throat hurt.

“We have to be unanimous,” I told her. “All votes are equal, and I want all of us to agree on the fate of a former member.”

“Are you serious– oh my Panar,” she groaned as she banged her head on the table.

I was feeling miserable and sleep-deprived, and this was going to go on for at least a whole ‘nother hour.





Luna stopped me before we left our little conference room.

“Is this not a good time to discuss with them the existence of another immortal?” She hissed at me, motioning towards the First Fang who were about to file out behind us.

“No, not here,” I whispered back, secretly motioning towards the stenographer. “We need absolute privacy. Complete secrecy. Can you imagine what will happen if word somehow makes it all the way to Chrysalis?”

“I can,” Luna admitted. “The last thing we need is for her to try to break out. Very well. But we will tell others soon, correct?”

“As soon as we’re in complete privacy,” I reassured her. “Now lean closer, I want to give you a reassuring kiss on the cheek.”

Luna rolled her eyes, "Just because I accept this, does not mean I support it. This sentencing.... It is not right. Better than what you had planned, but it is still too bloody."

"Oh? And how did you deal with traitors, Luna?"

Her face darkened, "Long, long ago, I dealt with them personally. There's better ways to do it now, Phasma."

"Is this not better?"

"You know the answer to that," Luna admonished me.

We resumed our egress, leading the First Fang and the stenographer out of the room and back towards the courtroom. The guards at the entrance saluted as we approached, and one announced our arrival.

“Your Majesty,” the ling on the left said.

I nodded a greeting and told Luna to stop us in front of the tables at the far side of the room, instead of going back behind them. The changelings all rose as we entered– except for Tarsus, whose rear was still parked on the crystal floor.

We arranged ourselves in front of Tarsus, glaring at him as Pharynx’s communication device was reactivated by a drone. Surprisingly, given how he was absent during the discussion of Tarsus’s punishment, the device made the connection with its distant other half, and Pharynx’s unamused visage once again filled the swirling circle.

I noted with thinly concealed frustration that he was sipping whisky from a crystal glass.

‘Stolen from my personal cache aboard the Clear Skies, no doubt. Whatever, it’s replaceable.’

“Glad to see you’ll be joining us for this, Prince Pharynx,” I said tersely.

“We’ll see….” He mumbled.

I returned my attention to the matter literally sitting before me. Tarsus stared back, his face and expression as level as it could be.

“Tarsus the Infiltrator,” I stated. “The First Fang has reached a unanimous decision.”

The traitor rolled his shoulders and neck, trying to loosen himself up despite his bindings.

“Go ahead,” he spoke out of turn. “Get this over with.”

“On the charge of betraying the Lodges and the resistance against Princess Chrysalis’s tyranny, we find you innocent.”

He blinked owlishly, “Oh? That’s surprising. But I guess there’s still the other two things you can kill me for.”

“On the charge of betraying the First Fang, we find you guilty,” I continued.

He simply nodded.

“On the charge of being responsible for Oestridae’s death, we find you guilty. Stand, and receive your judgment like a true changeling.”

Tarsus complied, rising to all fours.

I slowly started to rise from my wheelchair. Luna quickly rushed to my side and aided me. I smiled at her kindness, grimacing through the pain that suddenly shot through my body as my wounds protested the movement.

When I was finally up, I shouldered my way past Luna and stood before Tarsus.

“Tarsus the Infiltrator. You have fulfilled your duties as an Infiltrator, but not as a member of the First Fang. You failed to protect your brother, and he paid the ultimate price for your betrayal. The punishment for such a crime ought to be death.”

Pharynx suddenly hissed in frustration from his video call. Without a comment, excuse, or even a goodbye, Pharynx shut off the device.

‘If he didn’t want to be here, why did he show up in the first place? Quite uncharacteristic for the normally stoic and calm changeling… Bah, it doesn't matter. I need to get this over with soon, if I wait any longer I’m going to collapse from exhaustion.’

The little drone traitor stared up at me, matching my stare.

“But you shall not die. Not today. Instead, Tarsus the Traitor, you are banished from the Hive Eternal. Forever shall you walk in its shadow, unable to be part of what you cast out. If any changeling ever sees you inside the borders of Equestria or the Hive Eternal, you shall be executed on the spot. Means will be provided for you to leave eastward, towards Griffonia. Other than that, you will never receive help from any changeling so long as you live.”

Before he could relax, or take any sort of comfort in his relatively light sentencing, I summoned forth an orange blade of energy.

With one swift stroke, and with a pained yell, I cut horizontally across the traitor’s face.

Tarsus screamed and fell backwards, clutching his now ruined face. From ear to ear, a bloody gash ran right through, and his eyelids slammed shut– too late to save his sight. With a single blow, I had blinded the drone.

As he curled up on the ground, twitching in pain, I observed his struggle without pity. Perhaps I should have been disgusted, horrified, or at least satisfied, but instead, I felt nothing.

The changelings gathered all gasped and tried to stand up to get a look at the drone. I made sure to get a good look at Scorpion’s reaction; the Chrysalis loyalist was looking on with a small amount of horror, but impressively had stayed calm.

‘There’ll be time to decide what to do with you later. Perhaps you will be given mercy, too. Though, considering how many changelings were killed because of your dogmatic faith towards Chrysalis, that’s a tall order….’

When Tarsus had enough time to get over the shock, I pulled him off the ground by hooking a hoof underneath his chin and dragged him up off the floor. He kicked and struggled and gasped as blood continued to trickle down all across his face.

"Since you are blind to those around you, then you shall be blind to all.” His ears flicked towards me when I spoke, but he kept his eyes closed. “You shall subsist on the good will of others, constantly reminded of your own failures as a brother. Should you fail to secure the kindness of others, you will be reclaimed by Equus. Never shall you let your wounds be healed. Never shall you return to the Hive Eternal. Never shall you speak your former name; henceforth, you are The Exile. You have no name. You have no home. You have no family. You have no purpose. Forever shall you wonder, lost. 

“As it is woven, so it shall be," I concluded over the Weave.

Then, I dropped him. Tarsus fell to the floor with a yelp.

“Get this miserable excuse for a ling out of my sight,” I ordered the guards. “This court is adjourned.”

“I gave everything to the Hive,” Tarsus spat as the guards picked him up by his shoulders. “Everything! Give me the death I deserve! I lived for the Hive, I will die for the Hive!”

“You will die a miserable wretch, with no glory and no higher purpose!” I snapped, turning my back on the ling.

The guards dragged the changeling out, and slowly the rest of the court filed out.

‘It’s done. It’s finally done. Oestridae can rest easy, now that justice has been served. Is this what he would have wanted? Would he have even cared? I guess the only thing I can do in his memory now is to continue my training as a warrior, to ensure no one has to lay their lives down in vain ever again.’

I examined the faces of the First Fang and Luna. Coxa and Lace looked satisfied with the outcome. They, like myself, had initially wanted his death. This was a close enough outcome to be at least somewhat mollified with.

Thorax was a bit upset, but ultimately he had agreed to this outcome. Tarsus would die unless he could convince others to pity him and give him kindness. A pony friendship lesson, written in blood rather than ink.

Luna was… conflicted. She brought the wheelchair over and helped me back into it. I hissed in pain as my battered chitin shifted around as I sat down, but I was welcome for the relief of being off my hooves.

All I wanted was to curl up and go to sleep, but I couldn’t let Luna stew over whatever she was thinking about.

“You want to talk?” I asked her.

“Modern Equestrians will not stomach this sentence,” Luna said. “Such brutal shows of justice have fallen wayside for a reason, Phasma.”

“We’re not ponies,” I reminded her. “We’ll do what we can to fit in and harmonize with ponies, but at the end of the day, we are not ponies.”

“Then should this rebuke cause you ruination in the future, I will say I told you so.” Luna sighed, “But, it could have gone worse. I doubt my sister or Cadence could ever call such an action warranted, but they have, for the most part, stayed away from the bloodiest parts of war. Such coddling never befit me… You spared his life and gave him a road to redemption. A far more difficult and bloodier road than I would have liked, but progress is progress. I hope that this therapy that we shall attend will aid you on your... brutality. Now… Shall we inform the others about the news?”

“In a moment, there’s still a lot of people here,” I replied, nodding towards all the changelings still leaving the room.

“What news?” Coxa asked, walking over.

“I said in a moment,” I repeated, before motioning Thorax over. “Thorax. Cadence said that during her ascension, she… had a spiritual moment. Visions, if you will. Did you… have anything like that?”

Thorax glanced at the crowd before whispering, “Actually… Yes. There was something.”

“Why didn’t you say anything before?” Lace asked.

Thorax squirmed, “It’s complicated.”

“We have time, please explain,” I asked him.

“... It’s hard to explain. Slightly before the… thing happened, I just kinda got this feeling. Pharynx got the feeling too, it was like we knew that something important was about to happen. Then, we, uh…. Ascended. The exact moment felt like forever to me, and um… I’m sorry, this is just hard to put into words. I guess you can say I saw a vision; it was kinda like a memory, but I could see myself in it. I was standing next to Double Diamond, undisguised. It was the moment I revealed I was a changeling, and I begged him to give me a chance. It was… weird. I guess it was the moment I earned my Ascension, when I took a chance on love and was loved by my coltfriend for who I was, not what I was….”

“Did Pharynx experience something similar?” I asked, looking over at the deactivated comms device.

Thorax shook his head, “No. Apparently, he only had the feeling, and nothing else.”

We stood around and watched the last changelings leave the room.

“Phasma and I have something to tell you,” Luna announced, casting a detection spell. 

It must have come up negative for anything, as she followed it up with a bubble of silence that encapsulated our group.

“Something important?” Coxa guessed.

“Is this about the Griffon? Because we were already told about that,” Lace said. “Celestia actually reached out to us about that. She wants to see if we can help her agents get close to the griff, and she asked us to run the idea by you.”

“It’s not that,” I said, “but we’ll discuss that later. It’s about Princess Prochoerodes. You all know that I’ve been hearing her voice for a while now, right?”

They all nodded.

“Well…. We finally know why.”





Luna flipped the book around and tapped one of the circular diagrams.

“This is the spell the translation is referencing,” she said as she tapped it. “I believe casting it is well within our capabilities. It should also make for an excellent starting point for our venture.”

I leaned closer, “That’s the detection spell?”

“Correct.”

“I don’t recognize any of those spell components, other than the vaguest resemblance to the standard magical detection spell.”

“That would be because you are about as educated as a horseapple-shoveler when it comes to advanced magical studies,” Luna said unhelpfully.

I groaned, “Just cast the damn spell.”

Luna took her victory with a smug look and turned the book back towards her. She then cleared her throat and started to cast the spell. Luna scrunched her muzzle up in concentration as her horn lit up with magic.

“Is it working?” I asked.

“..... No. Wait, yes. It is indeed working.”

“What do you see?”

“It is… peculiar. The world is dulled of its color, yet when I look at you, I see a light. Orange, of course, emanating from within your person. Like one of my stars, yet larger and warmer. Can I– oh yes, I can,” she said as she twisted her neck to look at her own back. “I can see my own soul, as well. Blue. It seems that our magic’s color matches our soul’s, at least with this spell. I can not say if this holds true for reality… It– wait….”

Luna stared past my shoulder, tilting her head.

“What is it?” I asked, turning around to look.

Against the wall behind me lay Luna’s armor, Unbroken Radiance, and God-Splitter.

“I think you should cast the spell, Phasma. It appears to be quite safe, and I believe you will find its revelation quite… enlightening.”

I turned back to Luna, “See, that’s exactly what you’d say if you were being possessed, Luna.”

She blinked and let the spell go, “.... I did not mean it like that. Do you believe that there is a chance that– that is to say, if you fear that I have fallen again–”

“Wow wow wow, it’s okay, Luna. It’s okay. I’ll just run that scanning spell you taught me real quick, and it will pick anything new up,” I reassured her. “I didn’t mean it like that. I’m sorry for freaking you out.”

Luna collected herself as I scanned her, “Yes, well, you had your existential crises earlier. It is only fair that I get one of my own today.”

“Don’t worry, Luna. We can be basket cases together. The spell came up clear, you’re fine.”

“I am glad to hear that… Now, as I was saying, there is something you should see: something that can only be seen in that spell,” Luna said while pushing the papers over.

I quickly looked them over for anything suspicious, but nothing had changed in the last thirty seconds since I had last looked at them.

‘Yep, still a ten-thousand-year-old spell written in a language I can’t understand. Let’s see, the translation team says that the scanner field is…. Hmm… Okay, it doesn’t really seem like any other spell I know, so this might take a few tries.’

“Right,” I said, “here goes nothing.”

Crafting the spell in my mind was no easy feat. In fact, for a basic-level spell, it was one of the most difficult to create that I could actually pull off. I didn’t have time to worry about the learning and difficulty curve of this newly rediscovered magic school, and the spell took up all of my concentration.

Using the translation’s suggestions, I focused the spell to imbue my eyes, like Luna did. What little energy I had was quickly sapped in an up-front mana cost, and my vision flicked to a whole new color spectrum. 

The world was sapped of its color; from Luna’s once-blue eyes to the plush blue carpeting on the ground, it was all now shades of gray. In fact, I could only see two sources of non-gray color all around me. One was Luna, and the other was myself.

Right in Luna’s chest was a blue light, the same shade as her magic. As I focused on it, my eyes adjusted to the brightness and I saw that the light’s source was a star. It was mostly cyan, however, similar shades of blue occasionally flowed around its shape like waves. The sphere was rotating in her chest– quite literally inside Luna. 

Looking down revealed more about the other source of color: a similar star, this one orange, lay within me. I had to use my relatively-new long neck to get a good look at myself, and I noticed that my soul was remarkably smaller than Luna’s. In addition, the star was significantly dimmer than Luna’s. Whether that was because of my weakened state, my apparent ‘fragility’ after having the Nightmare removed earlier, or if it was because my age was a fraction of Luna’s was impossible to know.

‘Things to find out later.’

“Beautiful, are they not?” Luna smiled. “But look behind you,” she pointed a hoof over my shoulder.

I had to turn my entire wheelchair to get a good look behind me. The effort was rewarded with the reveal of a third source of color in the room. Up against the wall, right inside God-Splitter’s oversized metal head, was another star. Or, more accurately, half of a star.

The shrunken soul was as large as my own. However, unlike my soul, the purple soul was cut in half. And not in a clean cut, at that. Instead of a perfect hemisphere, it was jagged, uneven, and sending out bolts of light into its missing half constantly. It was also dim. Very dim, to the point where it didn’t color anything else around it, unlike the souls of Luna and me.

“What….” I muttered as I let the soul-viewing spell slip from my horn. “That’s not…”

“I think it is,” Luna mused behind me.

I pulled on God-Splitter’s tethering enchantment in the shaft of the weapon and pulled it across the room to me. Hefting it so that the green Adamantium head was right in front of me, I cast the Soulmancy spell again.

The half-soul was nestled right in the center, where the Mithril core would be.

“So that’s how you work,” I whispered. “.... Princess Prochoerodes? Is that you? Can you hear me?”

I strained my ear to hear, but I only heard the muted clip-clops of Luna slowly walking up next to me.

“Princess Procho? Are you there?” I whispered over the Weave.

The star’s faded lights pulsed brightly for a moment, arcing out from its broken center and across the entire room before slamming into the far wall. There was a pause, long enough for me to wonder if anything at all was going to happen.

Then the lights returned, retracing their arcs in reverse.

“... I hear you.”

“She heard me,” I told Luna, jaw dropping. “It’s her. It’s her! God-Splitter is…” I cleared my throat out of habit before continuing over the Weave, “Princess Procho, I am King Phasma. Your… brother. I can see half of you. Do you… know what happened to you?”

The lights pulsed out once more, and our heads turned towards their destination– Luna had recasted her own soul-viewing spell. After a few more moments, the lights returned.

“.... Half? Yes… I…. died. Brother. That is… new.”

“Where are you?”

The lights once again went out, but this time they did not return. I waited half a minute before deciding to drop the spell and bring Luna up to speed.

“Princess Procho… she said she died. Her voice is so quiet, Luna, it’s hard to hear. I’m not getting any more responses….”

“What could this mean?” Luna wondered. “Is she alive? Is she… dead, but encapsulated in your war gear?”

“She’s dead,” I said. “That much seems to be certain. But…. anything more…. Princess Procho died three hundred years ago, and only her blade was recovered. A blade which was reforged into God-Splitter! But… that doesn’t account for the parts of her that are missing. Is her soul scattered? Was there another piece of her war gear that somehow captured her soul? We… We need answers, and unfortunately, I know there is exactly one changeling who might have them.”

Luna sighed, “Chrysalis. She deserves to know the status of her daughter, but I fear that this information might make her captivity an impossibility. If she reacts like any mother should, she will demand to know everything, to be a part of everything, and to lead the investigation– even if she can offer said investigation no use. Such a disruption to her captivity will only lead to problems. In the future, we can inform her, but for now, we can not allow outside interference. In addition, we can not be certain that word will not reach her cell, should it become common knowledge. You never know what she will overhear, or what we might let slip.”

“We’ll…. Figure it out. Where did those lights go? You saw them, right?”

“Indeed. They went…. east,” Luna pointed towards the wall they pierced, as if I forgot.

“What’s east?”

“Manehattan?” Luna offered.

“..... Then it seems we will have to find Princess Procho’s other half, be it in Manehattan, in another missing Hive east of here, or somewhere else…. And then…” I looked at the stack of papers that served as our translation. “We will restart the school of Soulmancy, and bring the dead back to life. Heh, maybe that’s why Chrysalis’s necromancy ritual failed: Procho’s soul never made it to the afterlife. Error four-oh-four, soul not found…”

“And in its stead, yours was plucked from beyond.” Luna squinted, “I would say that stranger things have happened, but I do not know if that is even true.”

I leaned back in my wheelchair, “Another royal would be nice. We need all the help we can get against King Sombra and his Umbrum horde.”

“Then let us hope that Princess Procho can indeed be brought back to the living. Another blade against the dark will always be welcome.”

I sighed, “I think that’s enough magic for now. It’s about time that we made our way to the Crystal Caves…”





Prince Pharynx set the crystal glass down, next to the tall bottle of whisky.

Finding it had been a short ordeal, as King Phasma had hidden the good stuff well, but Pharynx bet it was worth it. Supposedly, pony alcohol was superior to the mushroom grog back in the Fourth Hive in practically every way. Since King Phasma had positioned himself as the sole supplier of said alcohol, it was no large stretch of the imagination to think that the King would have the best stuff in all of the land for himself.

“Opulent waste of materials,” Pharynx muttered as he poured himself a glass.

He raised the glass and took a cautious sniff, before sipping a small portion out of the filled glass.

‘Ergh…. Definitely will take some getting used to, but… perhaps there is some merit to the rumors. Still, nothing can beat the taste of a chilled mug of Sprout after a long day of training.’

The portal flashed to life in front of him as the device was reactivated. King Phasma turned to glare at Pharynx.

“Glad to see you’ll be joining us for this, Prince Pharynx.”

‘Wasn’t exactly planning on it. But since I’m here, maybe I can actually stick through it. I’m a Praetorian, damn it! A warrior!’

“We’ll see,” he said instead.

To the victor went the spoils, including executing the losing side. That was a fact of life that Pharynx was quite at home with. However, he had intended on skipping this execution in particular. In fact, he had hoped to miss every execution that he possibly could. The less death he could see, the better.

That’s why he jumped onto a pony aircraft the first chance he got, clinging to the excuse of bringing extracted love from the old hive. If Thorax could see him now….

‘Never mind that,’ Pharynx dismissed the thought as he chugged the rest of the glass.

“On the charge of betraying the Lodges and the resistance against Princess Chrysalis’s tyranny, we find you innocent.”

Pharynx looked back at the portal as he poured another glass, suppressing a coughing fit. Infiltrator Tarsus, the one who had sided with the Queen– former Queen, at least– was trying his damndest to glare right back at the King looming over him.

‘Good luck out-intimidating a royal, imbecile.’

“On the charge of being responsible for Oestridae’s death, we find you guilty. Stand, and receive your judgment like a true changeling.”

‘Here it is,’ Pharynx sighed internally, slowly downing his second glass. ‘Really hope I’m not feeling this stuff tomorrow. How strong is this whisky-stuff, anyways?’

Considering that it was tucked away with small glasses, it was a safe assumption that whisky was quite strong.

“The stronger the better,” Pharynx whispered to himself.

‘Panar grant me strength.’

The communication portal pulled Pharynx’s attention back to it as King Phasma spoke, “Tarsus the Infiltrator. You have fulfilled your duties as an Infiltrator, but not as a member of the First Fang. You failed to protect your brother, and he paid the ultimate price for your betrayal. The punishment for such a crime ought to be death.”

With a hiss, Pharynx lurched across the desk and pulled apart the base of the device, cutting the link immediately. He sat there, sprawled across the cabin’s desk, panting heavily.

“Death,” he murmured, rolling the word across his mouth. “Death. Death. Death.”

His heart pounded in his chest, filled with the same fear that had cut right through him like an Uttu fang during his fight with King Phasma.

If that fight had accomplished anything, it had proven that Pharynx was far from the young, immortal soldier that once saw himself as. Ascending to Princedom had not shaken that fear. In fact, it made it worse.

So, so much worse.

Clack clack clack clack clack.

Pharynx looked down and saw his hooves shaking against the bottle of booze. He could taste bile. Wanting to wash out the taste of vomit, he picked up the bottle of whisky and began chugging straight from the bottle itself. He gasped around the opening, spilling the brown stuff across the desk as he drowned himself.

Pulling himself away with a cough, Pharynx wiped his mouth with a hoof and pulled himself back into the chair.

“I’m fine. I will be fine. I’m alive. Thorax is alive. We’re both alive.”

He pulled the bottle close and clutched it like a larva, “I’m alive. Thorax is alive. We’re both alive. I’m not going to die. He’s not going to die. We’re not going to die.”

Pharynx cringed.

He had just reunited with his brother after months of thinking he was dead, and he took the first chance he got to get away. But he had to. He couldn’t let Thorax see him. He couldn’t let Thorax know.

When his brother had asked if Pharynx had seen anything during his ascension, Pharynx lied. At the time, it was easy to dismiss it as just a random thought that his mind conjured up. After the conversation, it slowly dawned on Pharynx that his vision was anything but a dismissible daydream.

“I’m alive,” Pharynx repeated.

In his mind, he saw the vision once more.

“Nothing will happen,” Pharynx nodded to himself.

He saw the blood. Panar, there was so much blood. It filled fountains. It painted streets. It ran like rapids down the gutters of the cobblestone sidewalks.

“We’re going to be fine.”

He saw himself. Prince Pharynx, the brand new Prince of the Hive, equipped with Adamantium wargear, just like King Phasma.

“I’m not going to die.”

He could see it. 

He could see himself.

Pharynx could see his own head, laying at the bottom of a mountain of corpses, with the rest of him draped atop the pile. He could see his own lifeless eyes, his helmet that held his severed head inside of it, the small blood trail his head made as it rolled down the pile, and he could see the ugly mess that was his cut neck.

“I’m not going to die!” Pharynx whispered, trying to burn the image out of his mind. “It’s not real! I am finally with Thorax again, I won’t… I can’t… Panar, please, don’t do this to me! W-why…. Why me…”

Pharynx sobbed quietly, still clutching the bottle of whisky.

“I will survive. I have to. I want to! I will break the chains of fate, I will survive this! Do you hear me, Panar?! I will not die!”





North.

An empire, once lush with green grass and clear blue skies, lies submerged in snow. Hills of snow-covered homes and businesses. Ice clung to every surface, like a weed. It encased streetlamps. It strangled windows. It violated the beautiful colors of the crystals with its ugly purple tinge.

A war was waged in the capital.

All the outlying towns had been scoured of life. Their inhabitants had either fled or were subsumed. All that was left was the capital city, and everypony in it, and everyone not a pony in it as well.

Families huddled together for warmth, holding their hooves over a frozen flame for over seven thousand years.

Soldiers died in the streets, bleeding out over the course of history.

A princess lay broken beneath a King of Nightmares, looking up at her doom-bringer. It would take her hundreds of centuries to die. Princess Amore of the Crystal Empire was about to die, yet she did not die. Her crystal ponies were doomed, yet their fate had not yet been decided. Not for all of them.

A spell had frozen them all. Like how the chilling frost had seemed to bring a still to even the liveliest of ponies, the spell had frozen time itself. Nopony inside the Empire had cast the spell. No Umbrum who descended upon the crystal ponies like a pack of wolves had been the spell’s architect, either.

The spell was cast by the unrepentant vermin who had started the whole war. The prison was crafted by the monster who had set everything into motion. So while every single person, be they Umbrum or crystal pony, was frozen in motion around him, King Sombra plotted his revenge.

While King Sombra did not feel a thing in the thousands of years he had been imprisoned, his own perception of the world had not been stopped. His mind ground against the confines of his prison; he could not cast magic, he could not move a muscle, he could not even blink. Still, he worked. Like a worm constructing a castle, pebble by pebble, he wore away at the infinite bindings that ensnared his entire host of apex predators.

‘My name is the epitaph that will be carved upon this world’s grave!’

The moments of eternity passed, unmarked.

‘I am the one who will swallow the sun!’

The spell had weakened, but it held just as firmly as when it was first cast by the King of Nisir.

‘I am King Sombra! My triumph is inevitable! My will shall be immutable law! My Nightmares shall become fear itself!’

The King of Nightmares stood, reared back on two legs, above the Princess of Love, forever poised to strike her down. His ash-gray armor was filthy, caked in blood and snow. His mane had been just as sullied with blood. His eyes, green and red, saw nothing but the defeated Princess beneath him.

Then, King Sombra felt a single hair on his muzzle twitch.



To Be Continued